Honestly, as a BC owner myself, i would just leave the divider in if you're going to be putting equipment in. If it leaks from front to back it really shouldnt matter because flow is being replenished both from the leak as well as from the intake slots on the right side of the divider? Maybe I'm just missing something, but seems like it would just be a good way to hide the intake tubes for the equipment that you are proposing to use.
As far as powering the skimmer from the canister, just seems like way more trouble than its worth in terms of potential disaster (CRAP I JUST PUMPED OUT ALL OF THE WATER IN MY TANK THROUGH MY SKIMMER CUP AND ONTO THE FLOOR). Also, I'm curious about what's going in the canister.