At the first one i thought it was a local problem ,as the second i tested it but i couldnt get the side drones down as You said, i thought it is my stupidity to get it off,sry
You could lock one of the fairings from separating, and only separate the fairing on the outside. That would let you remove the 2 drones on the side without smashing up your core in the process.
Maybe add a pair of boosters to the sides of the 2nd stage for which to perch the drones and maybe change those sides on the 1st stage into trimmer boosters so it’s not over powered, probably drop 2 engines depending on how you settle the 2nd