I don't think i would deny the payout lol what about you ?
I might, if I was rich and my main concern was visibility, such as stated by @haejin. By denying payout, he would instantly stop pretty much all downvotes. The steemit community would have rallied around him had they continued. His image would have been far more improved vs the respect he has lost from many of his followers during this back and forth with many Steemians. It would have been a genius play.
I really like your other point as well. It would be interesting if we could find a reliably accurate means of measuring the percentage of the reward pool being downvoted every day and historically.
It's all in the blockchain.
The rules could be changed so the downvotes are burned not redistributed and measure the outcomes. If there is no change in behavior over time that would most likely prove that i was wrong.
That would create a situation with even greater power and benefit being given to those with higher stake. A downvote on anybody would mean a decrease in the supply of steem, increasing the value of their holdings. There are a lot less whales than there are of us.