Defoliation and lollipop

You definitely want to keep as many of your fan leaves as possible but if there is a leaf blocking light to lower budsites then it needs to be picked off in my opinion. I go through my plants every couple days and pluck a few leaves to let light down to the lower branches. I find that doing this helps those lower branches grow up to the top. I go for as many tops as I can get so I don't mind sacraficing a couple leaves to get another fat top. Good luck!