There’s a good thread on this here: Telluria Emblems -- heart path... Or shield path...?
As for stripping from Richard, I’ve been very conservative about moving Emblems from one hero to another, and have preferred to just add them as I get new ones.
So if it were me, I’d be inclined to keep the existing ones on Richard, unless it’s strongly important to you to up your War Defense.
And as @Rduke77 said, it would be wise to wait a bit anyway.