In order to really protect from EMP, I would GUESS (SWAG) that you would have to be outside the Van Allen Belt at the very least, and preferentially beyond the Earth's magnetosphere.
As for frying all the satelites, sure, I am into planned obsolecense - new satelites in the same slots now occupied by dead satelites means more capability. Only one question: How do you clean up near-Earth space? I mean, the maintenance flights to rendezvous with the hulks, attach deorbitting engines, and sling them back to Earth is huge. Assuming that the satellites are all dead, then perhaps the best thing would be to fill near Earth space with gas (boil a few comets?), which would act to deorbit the dead ones.
Orions are still the best use for obsolete nuke weapons.
> How do you clean up near-Earth space?
The new WPA.
> sling them back to Earth is huge
Bah. Thousands of tons of metal already on orbit would be useful things to have if you plan on having space-based industry or colonization. Don't drop 'em... use 'em.
> Orions are still the best use for obsolete nuke weapons.
Nope. Orion woudl need *all* *new* nukes. Bomb-nukes are wholly inappropriate. Until you get to Really, Really Friggen GIANT Orions, you need bombs with yields of one kiloton or less. Very low yield nukes have been built (the Davy Crockett, frex), but they are incredibly filthy and wasteful, and not that reliable. Orion will need a whoel new bomb development program to produce sub-kiloton, dirt-cheapt, preferable fission-free nukes. They would also be just the thing for *other* applications. Bad guy in a cave? Fine. BOOM.