Car guy.

I pull a full size P-U without brakes. Can I do it safely? 99.9% of the time. However I have no control over that other guy. I drive for a living and still, doing it keeps me up in the seat, don't like it.

Can I pull it w/o brakes on a good day, absolutely. In an emergency such as a panic stop having 4000lbs+ on the hitch with brakes will give you that noticible difference your currently having a hard time experiancing.

I might pull smaller stuff w/o brakes comfortably, The beetle, a Mini cooper.