A roller blade wheel is not that large, I'm surprised that it would "dramatically" disrupt airflow. Perhaps you are correct in theory, but many times theory is not proportional to practical reality.

That's fair. Let me specify that it dramatically disturbs local airflow. I doubt it really affects things 2m away.

In our case, they're really chunky wheels and they're actually mounted outboard of the wingtips. So they have an outsized effect vs. more standard approaches. This is what motivates the desire to change. I'm just guessing here, but I wonder if they don't have as large an impact as not properly taping seals.