Have to agree that they are obnoxious in the game, if they are active but not being used.
Usually they have powered themselves off and it's not a problem for me, but occasionally I'll bump one while playing. I'm not very adapt a taking out the battery while blind to RL and Dale holding a hand over my eyes while I try to dogfight. A don't use checkbox would be nice. Not just for the touch but all controllers that you don't want in game.