You can usually find a way to bend/tie/fold etc them out of the way of bud sites. The reason not to cut them is that fan leaves store energy in such a way to make it easy to get to when the plant needs it. When you see fan leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off during late flower, it's because the plant is using all available energy and directing it to reproduction (flowering). Let the leaves fall off naturally, and let the plant do its thing.

Dboy