i am down with what everyone else has said.. the fan leaves are like the plants solar panels hanging out there collecting light that it later uses to convert into energy by making sugars.. fan leaves are the life blood of your plant, remove them and the plant will have major problems, and remove enough of them and your baby will die..
i was always told not touch any of my leaves.. if they are yellowing and look dead like they will towards the end of flowering, ,they will fall off on their own when they no long have a job to do for your plant..