After deleting the "Telecom Applications" folder on the root level of the hard drive and restarting, the Telecom Applications folder returns with zero items in the folder. Why does this occur?

This is normal behavior for Apple Telecom software. When the Fax Sender extension loads, and the Telecom Apps folder is missing, it creates one so that it will have a place to drop "Faxes Waiting to be Sent" and "Sent Faxes".

There is no way to disable this feature without disabling faxing functionality altogether.