I haven't found AdAware any use since the SE version was discontinued, either, apart from a little bit of learning how to fix things when poorly written software plays up, which I could have done without.
Tracking cookies are generally very low risk items, can be managed via the browser settings, and are easily deleted, so I don't expect/need an anti malware program to do that for me. (Although if the nastier of the cookies can be intercepted and blocked, that's a bonus.)
The current similar programs with far better detection and cleaning capabilities are
MBAM and/or
Superantispyware. Both have free (demand scanning) and paid (resident protection) versions available; both will remove a lot of the rogue programs/trojans etc around today, both are well supported and have active forums.
Others you might want to look into include A2 by emsisoftware,and dear old Spybot S&D, which is still actively supported and has useful features.