Did Fluke ever make a comment on the ridiculous consumption when the 233 is off?
They did indeed. I complained about it on the Element-14 forums and a Fluke representative popped up and immediately went on the defensive. He said it was a function of how the remote system operated, and their consumer research had found out that users wanted it that way. Now, I would like to know what questions they asked, because I can't imagine they asked "Do you mind if your meter eats a set of batteries every few weeks". It was clear from his response that they weren't interested.
So far as I can see, the units chat several times a second, and if communication is lost the RF turns on. Running the units once a second and at reduced output wouldn't have been difficult.