I get this question all the time. I recommend that the users adjust to the new workflow and environment. Since the shortcut bar always appears to the upper right of the cursor location, adjusting the way you pick entities can help. I now pick from the upper right of the screen heading to the lower left. This keeps my shortcut popup menu from getting in the way as I'm selecting entities.
Depricating the toolbars by removing the tools is an onerous task as every entity in NX (component, solid body, face, line, point, etc.) all have shortcut menus. I do think that some out there would love an environment variable to disable all shortcut popups. Like the ribbon toolbars, it's just something to get used too.