Yes please provide a separate setting to disable recent notes! I'm sure there are people that love it, but for many people it's just taking up space, creating a distraction or compromising their privacy.
For me personally, it just drives me nuts. I want to put things in their place, not have things jumping around. It takes more time and mental energy to scan a recent list in hopes of finding the note I was recently viewing then to just go to where I know where to find it.