Yes. "Emancipate" means: 1) "To free from bondage, oppression or restraint" and 2) "To release a child from the control of parents or a guardian"
~Amer. Her. College Dictionary

My take on this situation is that obviously it can't stay the way it is. It's not a happy or healthy situation for anyone right now and I can understand why you are considering stepping back and waiting to re-connect with your kids when the emotional climate is more suitable. I would be frustrated and overwhelmed too. I do think that it would be possible for you to work out a system where you still get to be actively in your kids lives, but avoid the drama and angst you are currently experiencing. If your ex is not following the court order, you can pursue a legal course of action because she is acting in contempt of court. You mentioned not having the funds to fight it out in the courts and I can understand that too! It will be hard, especially since there is already a precedent of the ex getting away with her behavior, but it is possible for you to set and maintain healthy boundaries with her and still be able to see your kids. Do you have access to anyone that could be a mediator while you and your ex discuss the schedule? A specific schedule needs to be set, agreed to and stuck to. Your ex can not just flout the rules and do whatever she wants, despite popular opinion that residential custodial parents are invincible and all-powerful. Have you looked into counseling with your kids? Even once a month would probably be extremely helpful.

I understand the desire to give up, just to have peace and try to reconnect with your kids later, when they are free from their mom, but no matter how worn out you are, you should do your best to stick it out and work towards a situation and arrangement that you feel happy with. If your ex isn't working with you on the schedule, THAT needs to change, not anything else. If PAS is going on and you are experiencing negativity from your kids from that, counseling would again be a good solution.

Instead of emancipating your kids, I would try every less drastic thing I could think of first. If necessary, cut back the amount of time you spend with them so you can focus and work on problems slowly and methodically. If you work towards a low-contact relationship with your ex, insist on neutral drop-offs (if potential violence or harassment is an issue you can meet in a store parking lot and have an officer on standby-it's very commonly done and the police don't mind doing it at all) and focus on preserving and improving your relationship with your kids. It may sound like it will be easier to back off now and try again later, but your chances of success with that are pretty much nil. You will miss out on years of your kids life that will never come again and I think it's important for parents to be involved at all ages. Also, if you emancipate them, even for the best of reasons, they will more than likely not understand your intentions and just take it as rejection and abandonment. Then, when you later try to reconnect and rebuild a relationship they won't want to have anything to do with you and will have had years of being soley influenced by their mom, which I am guessing will not do any favors for you. It's easier to walk away from overwhelming problems, but it's up to the kids/teens to walk away and test boundaries, not the adults. Teens leave and return a few times as a normal part of growing up, but in order to be mentally healthy they need to have a secure place to come back to and parents that they can always fall back on for emotional support.

So, I won't judge or criticize you as it is not my place and is rude, but I will tell you my opinion, which you can take or leave. Only you know what your situation is like and it's easy for people to jump on the bandwagon and attack someone when they haven't experienced what the person is going through or doesn't know the whole story, the history or the details. This is a very personal choice that you will have to make yourself and face the outcome yourself. My advice is to not emancipate your kids, but also don't let things stand as they are. Your situation is intolerable and if it's bad enough that you are considering taking a break from your kids and legally cutting them off, it's a pretty serious situation and there are a lot of things you can do to change and improve things without taking such a drastic legal step.

I would sit down with your kids, without the BM present, and talk to them about your feelings and see what they think and what kinds of ideas and solutions they might have? This seems like a problem between you and their mom and it's coming out by affecting them and your relationship with them. If you walk away, you are letting her win and letting her control your life and your relationship with your kids. For your kids sake, you should try every other option before busting out the big guns. Legal emancipation is not something you can take back or change your mind about. It means that if your child was in a car accident and was in a life or death situation in the hospital, you would not legally be able to see him or her! You would not be considered family emotionally or legally. I would leave the legal aspect out of it entirely. If you need to work things out with your kids, take some time and space, but don't check out entirely!

Unless your kids hate you, are evil to you, rude, disrespectful and just use you for resources and you have to pay CS to your ex that isn't being used for them, I could see emancipation being a positive solution, but that would only be if the relationship with the kids would be severely damaged and irreparable, not for reasons just relating to the BM.

I wish you the best and hope the situation gets resolved satisfactorily for you and your kids! Good luck!