As I understand it, to reduce "stem sway" you make it so that the top is perpendicular to the stem when the hinge wood finally breaks, which is when the cut finally closes. I usually do this by starting my face cut with a regular notch and then finish with a humbolt (which can be thought of here as a really aggresive snipe), so I have actually removed two 45 degree notches of wood from the face cut, resulting in a tipping motion of 90 degrees before hinge breaks. Lastly, I continue to narrow the hinge wood right up until it breaks - not enough to eliminate it's ability to steer the top, but enough so that it breaks quick and easy with very little pop.
I can't really see how leaving a few branches would add enough mass to make much of difference. I understand the idea of how a more massive stem is harder to shove around than a less massive one. But we're talking a relatively small difference in weight on a lot of trees; in the trees I work in, the branches are probably about 15-20% of the trunk's mass. Sure it helps, but not enough so most people could notice.