Currently, "the Audience" (https://mikrotik.com/product/audience) is MikroTik's most powerfull access point, which is meant to be used for meshing and therefore has a preset button to do so.

I actually have some locations in mind where I'd set those up where a normal access point like cAP ac doesn't look "cool" enough.

So, can I simple remove the meshing configuration and use the Audience as single access point or in cAP mode?

I have not tested that but i guess yes. Why not?

https://i.mt.lv/cdn/rb_files/1568200626 ... -%20qg.pdf

To connect this device to a wireless network managed by CAPsMAN, keep holding the button for 5 more
seconds, LED turns solid green, release now to turn on CAPs mode (total 10 seconds).