He's only a problem if you interact with him. On my first playthrough, I left the people in Sanctuary hanging with no food, little water, and barely enough beds. I didn't get around to Ten Pines until I'd already ganked Kellogg and cleared the Castle. ( Clearing the castle pre-Garvey is a huge time-saver, I found out.)It's possible via the modding community but still that damned sheriff Preston Garvey is a game breaker for me. I doubt I've ever met or interacted with a more annoying NPC.
A fabulous game I've spent many hours playing...I'm engrossed in replaying Oblivion,
I used to play New Vegas with lot's of mods.Much more enjoyable game experience if you mod it, add an end or shader and play on survival mode.