Bill -
Like you, I puzzled over why any owner would go to the trouble of crawling under the TM and cutting the brake wires. Breakaway switch? Well, I don't have a better idea, so you are ahead of me. But let's be crystal clear on a couple things.
1. Having a working breakaway switch on your trailer is important - as in LIFE AND DEATH IMPORTANT! Don't even think about leaving your driveway or campsite without one.
Not under any circumstances!
2.
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the Lanyard pulls the plug from the breakaway device. This causes the electric brakes to be applied as long as the battery has a charge. Removing the main battery fuse would be my perfered way of getting around this problem vice cutting the brake wires
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If the breakaway switch has applied the trailer brakes, NEITHER of these is an acceptable way of "getting around the problem". If you accidentally pull the pin on your breakaway switch, all you have to do is stick the pin back in again. After all, it is attached to your tow vehicle by the lanyard, so you haven't lost it - it is still hanging there at the end of the lanyard. It is just like the light switch in your bedroom - when you turn it on, it is not permanently on - you can still turn it back off again.
3.
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It is possible that even without the battery the TV might provide power to the breaks (spell?) via the Bargman plug.
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Under normal circumstances, the tow vehicle provides ALL of the power to the trailer brakes via the Bargman plug. And if the breakway switch is activated when there is no TM battery (or the TM battery is dead), the tow vehicle will still operate the trailer brakes normally, meaning it will provide normal braking power via the Bargman plug.
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However, if the trailer becomes physically disconnected from the tow vehicle (i.e., the hitch pops off and the trailer "breaks away" from the tow vehicle), then the Bargman plug gets pulled out of its socket immediately. And then the only remaining source of power to the trailer brakes is the trailer battery, via the breakaway switch. And if you have disconnected the trailer battery or pulled its fuse, then the trailer will roll merrily down the highway, smashing cars and killing parents, kids, and dogs, until it finally comes to rest upside down in a ditch. Not a good outcome.
Sorry to be so strong in my reply, but this is not a trivial matter. If the original owner cut the brake wires to circumvent the breakaway switch, then he should be shot. Pure and simple.
By the way, if the lanyard and the pin are actually missing, a new breakaway switch is cheap ($10) and easy to install.
Bill