Hide icons in applications menu

Question

I am having the problem that the Applications "menu", in grid mode, on the dock is getting stuffed with lots of things I almost or never need.
That, I could accept.
But when you are forced to for example install Microsoft Silverlight, the installer puts some icon in the applications menu that you never click. I have trashed this icon and everything seems fine until now... I hope...
Yesterday, I wanted to try the trial of the new Corel Painter 12. To be able to download it, the website wants you to install some kind of plugin called Akamai. Once installed, you get this subfolder menu Akamai in your applications menu. Then I went back and Akamai started to download the trail and installed it. Now there's another folder in the applications menu called Corel Painter 12, which seem to contain necessary extra brushes and support files for some reason.
1. I don't want to need to see that Akamai is on my system as I will probably never need it again. But I don't want to use the uninstaller inside the Akamai folder because maybe I will need it someday in the future. Trashing the Akamai folder will take away my possibility to use the uninstaller to remove the software cleanly from my mac. The only way out seems moving this folder to anoder place on the disk, while I hope I will remember that I put it there when I need it.
2. I only want the Painter 12 icon in my applications menu, I don't want to click on the Corel Painter 12 folder and then on the subfolder, click on Painter 12. I am not interested in the sub-sub-folders. I know I can move the Painter 12 item upwards but it might give problems. Trashing the sub-subfolders will prevent me from using them if I find use for them. Moving them to ander place on the disk may be a solution, but again, I hope I find it back when I do need it, and maybe the software will not work if I do this.
But these folders make my applications grid UGLY and stuffed. I never use Calculator, I use SpeedCrunch. Still I don't want to trash Calculator because I might want it back and it is standard system software. Again: I want it away until I find need for it.
Is there a proper/nicer way to solve this? Can't I just HIDE an icon from the menu, can I create some kind of symlink Painter 12 to the "hidden" Corel Painter 12 subfolder's Painter 12 app? How?
Sorry for the long text, the reason is that I want you to fully understand my problem before answering with the things that I already suggested.

Answer 1

You can create symlinks and store them at your application folder, not the systems - where all your apps probably live. Then you could add this folder to your sidebar and even tell new Finder windows to open this new location of your symlinked apps. Hit the Terminal.app and type ln -s "original item path (i.e.where it is)" "new link path" (i.e.where you want it to be). Note that you can drag the app to the terminal, bypassing the need to type its location as you can also drag the new destination afterwards.
The only problem I visualize from reading your post, is that you probably wouldn't like for the apps to have the traditional shortcut arrow on its bottom left corner…
BTW, you can trash Akamai via the uninstaller. Next time you need something via this app, simply let it be installed again (it's very lightweight). I tend to use it only when the files/installers I am transferring are too large to take the risk of stopping midway through.
Hope this helps.