Ya bud, flush sounds like a good plan. It cant really hurt anything if your using soiless it would probably help. And as far as the lollypopping goes, what i do is if i know that my bottom leaves are going to get no light due to a crowded canopy ill cut them off along with the branches. Lollypoping works just like many other techniques given the right conditions. If you had good bud growth in the past on the lower branches and have never seen them yellowing from lack of light ( youll know it when you see it ) you should have no need to lollypop. Youve seen my grow so, when the lower stuff on the larger plants isnt recieving enou light, or in my case, when the top canopy is so dense that the lower canopy isnt getting any light, the whole lower part of the plant turns lime green while the top stays emerald green. In that instance you would benifit from an under cut or there will be alot of undense popcorn buds that are just good for making hash ect. Im a believer in if it aint broke dont fix it and always try the simplest methods first. In my case i learned that an undershuck in my conditions helps but i also know that if its not needed it will hurt yield. Its your choice bud to do it or not and trying things first hand regardless of the concequences is the only way to know for sure. They do look nice when you lolly pop though. Hope alls well bro. Cheers.