i have always topped mine m8 and even on my 1st grow i averaged 4 per plant...... my best as i told you 8 per plant........ topping def gives you a better yield. If you top once you end up with two main colas as against just the one if you dont top them and its best to top them nice and early as it make for a much stronger plant later on. Regarding the de leafing i only remove the big fan leaves that are covering buds to allow the light to get to the buds.... and always do it gradually.... dont be too shy with it but dont go too mad either. Also when my girls come into bud i take all the small buds off at the lower end of the branches ..... then all the plants efforts are concentrated into the top ...... and not wasted on the smaller ones towards the bottom that are always going to struggle. this is how i got my bigger yield of 8.25 last time