I'd recommend just applying a theme for now. You'll want to deodex before doing that, then re-odex after for optimum results. I'm not the biggest fan on TW either, but as others have said, its a brand new device. Spend some time getting to know it as is, learn its exclusive features and see if any are useful to you, and learn how well it runs stock. If you jump right into a stripped-down ROM, you'll have nothing to compare it to, and won't be able to accurately gauge any improvement, and may miss out on features you would have liked.
BTW, is this based on actual usage of the phone, or just reviews? Until you've had it in your hand for awhile, I wouldn't do much at all to it beyond rooting, blocking ads, changing DNS, and freezing Verizon (not Samsung) bloat.