You still have a long way to go, but by defoliating your plant so much you have really handicapped your plants ability to make energy.
All of the plants energy to grow is made by/from the leaves and by removing all the big fan leaves, your plant is struggling to make enough energy to live, let alone grow big dense flowers.
When it comes to leaves, it is best to leave as many as possible, if not all of them.
If your plant did not need them, it would not have grown them in the first place!
More leaves = more energy = more plant/flowers.
Unfortunately there is nothing you can do but to continue with your current care routine and maintain your plants health and guide it to maturity, but sadly you won't get the big buds you desire due to your plants lack of energy making factories (fan leaves).
Those big fan leaves are the basic energy factories your plant needs to grow her biggest and best flowers and without them, life is a struggle.
I would suggest next time you grow to leave as many leaves as possible and you will be astounded by the difference in vigour and size of your plant and its flowers. Try and only ever remove yellow leaves, for by the time they are yellow, they have served their purpose. As long as ever they are still green, they are making the vital energy your plant needs to grow to her optimum size. Without those big fan leaves, there is a massive energy shortfall.
Hope this sad news helps in some way, Organoman.