Purple queen auto getting too bushy?

On another note, as a relative newbie, It's always handy to have as many leaves as possible as a buffer. If you run into a lockout issue, the plant will cannibalize the leaves as a source of nutrients until you sort the pH. I'm glad I didn't defol too much with my first auto as I ended up burning the living shit out of it and having a lockout issue around wk 6 of flower, and the leaves basically kept it alive lol.

When I defol the lower shoots that won't make it to the canopy, leaves stay for this reason.