Trimming fat off of a whole brisket

OK, tomorrow I'm taking my first crack at a whole brisket. Actually, two of them. How much fat should I trim from it? I know there is a pocket of fat between the cap and the flat. I started trimming that out and it pretty much looks like a botched seventh grade science project at this point. If that analogy doesn't work, then imagine the first fish you've ever cleaned–that's what it looks like. Anyhow, I got this piece of meat on sale, but jiminy Christmas, I have a bucket-o-fat sitting in my garbage can. I'm beginning to wonder if I took too much out. I thought I read somewhere that you should try to leave a quarter inch which, in my opinion, is basically impossible. I just hope I don't end up with a glorified piece of jerky when this thing is done. There are still patches of fat on it, but I would say that I likely took at least a pound or two of fat off of each one. So, could I just have avoided all of this and just left it as is? It's all sitting on top of the garbage can, so if I didn't need to trim the fat, I could just grab the pile and shove it back in I suppose. I'm not a health nut, but there was a ton of cholesterol surrounding my brisket. It's been a couple of years since I've done brisket, but I just don't remember all that much fat. Thanks.

Ignatius