The correct method to completely remove a style or script is to dequeue it and deregister it. You should also note that front end scripts are handled through the wp_enqueue_scripts
hook while back end scripts are handled through the admin_enqueue_scripts
hook.
So with that in mind, you can do the following
add_filter( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'change_default_jquery', PHP_INT_MAX );
function change_default_jquery( ){
wp_dequeue_script( 'jquery');
wp_deregister_script( 'jquery');
}
EDIT 1
This has been fully tested on WordPress version 4.0 and working as expected.
EDIT 2
As proof of concept, paste the following code in your functions.php. This will print a success or failure message in the head of your site, back end and front end
add_action( 'wp_head', 'check_jquery' );
add_action( 'admin_head', 'check_jquery' );
function check_jquery() {
global $wp_scripts;
foreach ( $wp_scripts->registered as $wp_script ) {
$handles[] = $wp_script->handle;
}
if( in_array( 'jquery', $handles ) ) {
echo 'jquery has been loaded';
}else{
echo 'jquery has been removed';
}
}