Similes and why we do not need them

I have this thing about similes, arguing that they only work if the writing needs them eg the night was black is fine, it does not need ‘as coal’ at the end.
Sometimes, a simile is so original that it leaps off the page but most of the time you really do not need them.
I found a quote from writer Esther Freud, who said: “Cut out the metaphors and similes. In my first book I promised myself I wouldn't use any and I slipped up during a sunset in chapter 11. I still blush when I come across it.”
I do the same when I come across similes I have written.
John Dean