Royal Dwarf 1

You're gonna get a lot of opinions on defoliation. To answer your question though, basically yeah once a branch establishes real leaves of it's own it becomes less dependent on the primary leaf that helped fuel that growth tip's initial growth. Do it on an early branch though and it will stunt it's growth. When I defol I try keep it even throughout, I don't strip anything down naked unless I'm skirting the bottom out. How you train your plants and how full your canopy is kinda dictates how aggressive you need to go. Some strains are leafier than others and handle defols better than others. I mostly hit long stems and micro-environments that are holding moisture pockets. Stacked leaves that feel kinda damp are a red flag for me. Powdery mildew loves those areas.