Hahaha..."Gamilonesque"....that's a good description, it does look like
something Gamilon aesthetics would have come up with...
But I am pretty certain that they are attached somehow (not entirely sure how
since they never showed a lot of detail of them in the series). I don't
believe it would be possible for separate ships to maintain that tight a
formation, especially during turn maneuvers, without being physically
attached.
As to what they're for, the most likely explanation is that most common of
reasons in the anime cosmology, they look cool. If you want a real
explanation, perhaps they are like the outriggers on the Illumidas ship I
mentioned in the end of the Harlock movie "My Youth in Arcadia", designed with
lost of side facing guns for close ship-to-ship flyby battles, also providing
extra protection for the main center ship.
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"Zu jeder Zeit, an jeder (sic) Ort, bleibt das Tun | Walter Amos
der Menschen das gleiche..." - Galactic Heroes II | amos@sedl.org