I'm also afraid to skip the mulch and risk losses. Although I've seen garlic do fine without mulch at the farm, the microclimate here is more extreme. We get a lot of freeze and thaw cycles every winter, so I can't really count on the snow. I think some of my losses last year could have partly been blamed on the quality of mulch as well, which was different on different beds and a bit thin in some places. Dryer bits of kelp mulch were not as good. Even leaves did better. So I need a nice even layer of fresh kelp. The leaf mulched bed didn't lose a single clove, either, although it wasn't that thick maybe inch and a half.
I also think that smaller cloves, rounds or 2nd year cloves are more vulnerable, maybe because they're not planted as deep.
Also, at a small scale, removing mulch in spring is a small price to pay for survival vs loss where the snow cover is risky. Although in my garden, I could probably have it removed with no effort, by letting the ravens go to it.
I only worried they may pull the garlic too.
That is a great link EPawlick. Lots of discussion about different experiences.