I know that by default the wallet.dat is stored in C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\BitCoin
To secure this wallet, do I remove the wallet.dat (eg. ctrl + x the file) away from C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\BitCoin and then put it in an encrypted folder on multiple HDs to prevent theft?
If I do this then do I copy the wallet.dat back into the default folder to add BTC to the wallet, then remove the wallet again and encrypt the updated version?
So basically if I open the Bitcoin app, since there is no wallet.dat will it just show up as having 0 BTC unless I manually copy the wallet.dat back over to the default directory?
You may want to consider secure wiping the file instead of just deleting it. Also you don't need to open your wallet if you send coins to it, they will reach it even if it is stashed away in a safe box.