Took the words right out of my bowl. Just one more of the million excellent reasons for ghee.
I find it oddly unpleasant when making my way through popcorn and suddenly bite down on one full of melted butter. It feels weirdly cold and wet in contrast to the hot, dry popcorn all around it. Even preheated butter that goes on hot produces this effect. Ghee is totally the answer, though olive oil works just as well, for the reason you gave: no water. When I make ghee, the finished volume is only 2/3 of what I started with because all that water boiled away.