Indoor lights to a plant is like starvation. And imprisonment. So the fewer mouths to feed low on the totem pole the better. Only the ones closest to the light deserve to eat. The rest just create humidity and a bag of worthless popcorn fluff. Outdoor is like a buffet with endless light and no reason everyone can't stay for the cookout. Indoor. That's like prison. South American prison.
I'm not sure that I would go that far knocking the quality of indoor light, but you do paint an accurate picture. Results can be pretty impressive indoors. However I completely agree with removing leaves on the lower part of the plant. The ones where it's in a low light area that are only going to produce loose bud that rarely finish ... those areas are using energy that could be used elsewhere. Those leaves usually start yellowing and fading early ... remove those on down and all the way in to the main stem. That area is a high humidity zone that does not get enough light or air and the plant needs that air flow to remain healthy.
I would not remove all large fan leaves. I would remove all lower leaves and bud spots below the light penetration zone. This forces all the plant's energy into the healthiest grow zone and will give you more bud and less larf. However, If you remove too many fans, the plant will replace that lost green with more leaf inside the bud. If it were my grow, I would leave every healthy green fan leaf on the plant that is in the light penetration zone.
With that said. Defoliation is a very divided topic and someone else will have a different opinion.