Hah, that would do it!
Ours are not at all tubby, judging by the amount of cars they get through they must be pretty damn fit.

I removed mine for the same reasons. They were clean underneath, but it had never been off roaded before. As for looks, I cut them off below the front door forward edge and reinstalled the part at the front fender. If you didn't know what it was supposed to look like you wouldn't know something was missing.

As for rustproofing, I've had excellent results with the Bilt Hamber range. Easy to use, well priced and all the way from Essex 😀
They have everything from rust converters through high zinc primer to two pack epoxy mastic for areas that are likely to get gravel blasted.
I haven't tried them all but what I have tried is excellent. Their car shampoo is amazing!