All I know is when I uninstall IE Windows doesn't function properly anymore. I'm sure there is a way to remove it while keeping the necessary libraries, but that is beyond most users. My point is that Chrome is not the default browser for any standard OS and there are no implicit dependencies yet it still has a larger user base. OS X has Safari and most linux distros come with Firefox. Chrome is usually installed beside another default browser and it still gets used more often.

MS IE has to be installed for Windows to work. This is not the case for any other web browser. I suspect that if MS removed the dependencies IE would be removed from many more computers. Invisible tabs or not, Chrome is just a more pleasant and useful browser.