I never understood why the drones need to switch positions at all. I'm not a programmer (unless you're talking about my DVR) but wouldn't it be easier and more visually appealing if the drones stayed in the same spot?
This is the regular formation;
X
X X
Someone kills either drone, and the other drone stays in the same spot it did in the formation. If someone kill the lead, the drones would also stay in the same spot like this;
X X
In this case, the lead spot would be removed.
From a formation point of view, if the lead aircraft was lost, the next logical step would be for the two remaining aircraft to tighten up for better defensive position.
This may be at the heart of the issue. I will say that I have been downed mulitple times by this issue.