The thing to keep in mind when figuring how many balls is that we tend to load them along the outside rim of the cup, but the actual track is farther in, so what seems to fit nicely may be one too many when the circumference is reduced.
This may account for why some people say remove 2 balls.
In any case one ball too many is always a problem, and the bearing can't work. OTOH you can afford to be short a few balls as long as the largest gap possible if all the balls are pushed together is 60° or less. That means if the race holds 24 balls, even 19 will be fine.
So, if there's any doubt at all, less is better.
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