Accepted answer: yes
I'm searching for the Staff of Magnus. I seem to have found it, because I've walked into a room with a guy trapped in a barrier by two Enthralled Wizards.
Not being a total idiot, I decided to poke around a bit before doing anything rash. I was able to sneak around to the exit door and get a cutscene from Savos explaining who the Enthralled Wizards are. Great, now I know a little bit more, at least. The wizards are holding back something big, scary, and evil.
I attempted to pickpocket the wizards, just to see what would happen. Turns out when you pickpocket them, they stop casting. Which means Morokei becomes free yet non-hostile and the wizards are both alive.
Morokei passively stood there while I killed him. It wasn't even a battle, it was like slaughtering an unresistant lamb.
So now I've got the Staff of Magnus. Did I break the rest of the quest? Will there be problems later on with events not being triggered because of this?