While ur plant is only that size & if lower dying leaves not blocking airflow then u may as well leave them on as there's still loadsa nutrients in there that the plant will suck out & redistribute. If i can, i always wait till they go totally yellow, dry & crispy and just break off in ur hand.
Also this helps as anytime u cut the plant, u force it to devote a small portion of growing energy to healing, so if poss always do the smallest area cut possible as it'll heal & get back to growing quicker.
Plus the larger the cut area, the larger the surface area for germs, bacteria & moulds to land & infect plant so u'd be best always cutting whole leaf at branch near main stem, rather than across leaf surface, to minimise entry points for bad things in the air.