I don’t like jQuery Mobile for one reason and one reason only: the fact that you have to use their UI (or spend hours to customize it).
The question: is it possible to get a strip down version of jQuery Mobile to work exactly like how jQuery works where you can use any CSS, any HTML and add jQuery functionality to it without using any of their UI. I want to be able to use jQuery Mobile functionality without any of their CSS/HTML. I want to write my own CSS and HTML.
So go for it.
You are not tied to their UI.
It is merely a suggestion.
As long as your IDs and classes match their code everything should work just as well.