It used to be the case that a very good driver would be able to stop quicker without ABS than with it - the system is a compromise between all the different conditions it has to encounter, dry roads, wet, snow, ice etc, whereas a human can adapt to the conditions.
The problem with this is that *everyone* thinks they are the aforementioned "very good driver", and that ABS is for all the other idiots that can't drive.
I don't know if the old "good driver being better than ABS" thing is true any more though, I find it hard to believe that the technology hasn't progressed over the years.