I have a few questions about this passage.

τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν ἓν ὥσπερ κῦμα φῶμεν διαφεύγειν τοῦ γυναικείου πέρι νόμου λέγοντες, ὥστε μὴ παντάπασι κατακλυσθῆναι τιθέντας ὡς δεῖ κοινῇ πάντα ἐπιτηδεύειν τούς τε φύλακας ἡμῖν καὶ τὰς φυλακίδας, ἀλλά πῃ τὸν λόγον αὐτὸν αὑτῷ ὁμολογεῖσθαι ὡς δυνατά τε καὶ ὠφέλιμα λέγει;

Plato's Republic, Book 5, section 457b-457c

Here's my take:

Then, what might we say to escape this one wave of criticism, concerning the law having to do with women, so that we are not wholly overwhelmed making a claim that it is necessary for the male guardians and the female guardians to pursue everything in common, but that in some way the very argument agrees with itself, as what it proposes is both possible and useful.

I am a little baffled by the participle λέγοντες. What's it doing here? It's not necessary for introducing the subsequent result clause.

I'm equally perplexed by the inclusion of ἡμῖν, in the phrase, τούς τε φύλακας ἡμῖν καὶ τὰς φυλακίδας. I don't understand the function of ἡμῖν. Could anyone explain?