It's really tough to make a suggestion. Working with clones makes this easier.
if i think it will produce trash buds, i cut it off. This is a personal preference. This is a matter of how many nodes i think it'll have and how much light is powering growth through local leaves. Again, knowing the plant helps immensely.
there's plenty of uses for lower-grade buds - bubble hash, canna-butter, other concentrates. A new plant i try to cut a bit less off than i probably would on future grows with same strain or clone.