Manifold

Do not remove anything, the next defoliation if you want to do it 1 week after flowering, only if it is necessary.

if one is causing some axuiliary growth to stretch, maybe... canopy powers everything... how much do you lose? that's a big consideration each time you do remove a leaf... if there is foliage below it in same area (actually a bit larger area since it is further from light to compare apples to apples), then you lose very little. don't do it just to make it look like someone else's plant.. have a reason. think about consequences of it... is it enough to outwieght the benefit? e.g. a node that stretches early in a plant that will eventually be 3x3 probably isn'ta big deal.. that early node will be buried and lollipopped, etc... try to think in terms of final canopy... visualize :)

Only reason I would is if they were blocking bud sites before flipping to flower. Otherwise those are what power the plants growth and I personally wouldn't want to slow that down if I can help it! Happy growing! Looks great!