My main question at this point is should I be defo...

Doing one round of defoliation will help your plant just don’t do it week after week as you’ll keep the plant in a constant state of stress.

1st excuse my english !! I don't defoliate beceause I'm not used to HST. But when you take a look to Hawkbo's plant you can really see the gain. As @Stick told you , you'll get a beter light penetration so your buds will not be in the shadow : bigger buds. Lower buds will appreciate the extra light. A friend told my that when you cut or remove a leaf it create a positive reacrtion to the branches (better and uniform cannopy) and increase the bud site number. But on the orher hand leaves are like lungs to your plant. The choice is up to you but with your bush styled plant I think you should defoliate

Personally I do defoliate my autos to get better light penetration to the bud sites. I think it helps the buds grow bigger. I know some disagree, but I think most people on GD growing autos do at least some defoliation.