I guess it's all for the better. As charming as the Rensouhous are, they just look silly when Shimakaze is hugging/holding them in combat (especially with the one under each arm pose seen in Shimakaze's manga). Having them as options (like in the anime) is better, but that means Shimakaze is just a glorified torpedo launch platform.
The Rensouhous probably aren't as fast as her either, especially after the upgrade she got assuming they need to get upgraded separately as equipment. They'll be useful for when they need more guns on the field firing at different angles but that's not what they need now, especially since their first objective is to break through the enemy defense while leaving remaining enemies up to the rear line to clear out.
I guess it's all for the better. As charming as the Rensouhous are, they just look silly when Shimakaze is hugging/holding them in combat (especially with the one under each arm pose seen in Shimakaze's manga). Having them as options (like in the anime) is better, but that means Shimakaze is just a glorified torpedo launch platform.
Here? BADASS.
Well, to give historic context, torpedoes were pretty much the only thing that was actually a threat to larger warships. 5" guns like Rensouhou-chan just plink off cruiser armor.
Part of why there's a fairly justified focus upon destroyers in KanColle is that Japan's Type 93 torpedoes allowed their destroyers to be a real threat and backbone of the navy... Until they were picked apart one-by-one.
From a in-universe perspective, though, even as options, they're still "a part of Shimakaze", so it's a little like saying that Alice doesn't do anything, it's all Shanghai doing the fighting.