Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I got caught up in seeing everyone not doing it and didn't even consider that. At what point do you start (if at all) defoliating? Just move them around so they don't touch for now?
I start defoliating in early-mid veg, when I selectively remove only leaves that are overlapping to the extent that the lower leaves are in darkness. So the lollipopping slowly begins. The plants will lollipop themselves eventually, but facilitating the process helps air circulation and prevents a bunch of dead/dying leaves hanging in your canopy. But I start "suckering" even before that, when I'm deciding which branches I want to keep. It's not a precise process, but it's veg anyway so if you remove too many growing points you can just wait a week and they'll be more to play with.
Defoliation should be a twice or thrice a week maintenance throughout the grow in my opinion. I don't do "major defoliation events", but instead get a leaf here and there while pinching off suckers. Once I flip, gradually the suckering activity is reduced and the defoliation increases. Below where the buds just start on the colas, I want an uninterrupted layer of leaves. I don't want to see soil when looking down on this layer, otherwise I'm wasting photons. Any growing tips (suckers) are removed that will not make it out of this solid green layer. Then as flowers appear and the cola's extend during the stretch, I gradually remove the major fan leaves on each node along the cola tops to allow light to hit the entire length of the flowering stalk from all directions.
Of course I don't always do everything I say on every grow because I can get a bit lazy. lol