Shouldn't take off leaves like that. Proper canopy management can avoid it completely, but there should always be a good and specific reason to remove a leaf.
a lot of congestion is a reason to remove a leaf to avoid constant condensation, which is a disease risk. The products of photosynthesis have no problem going where they are needed. It's better to capture more light than worry about penetration. Again, with proper canopy management, you will automatically get enough penetration of light. the most light will be captured by leaves closer to the source. light spreads out very quickly the further away from the source it travels. removing top leaves just means more light missing the plant or absorbed by the walls, which is not value added.
Keep the leaves... they do so much more than just absorb light. CO2 is likely your limiting factor. Removing leaves reduces intake of co2. that's impossible to outweigh with whatever bro science says defoliation does.