Actually, I thought they kept the down going blades as close as possible to the CofG because the downgoing part of the prop disc produced more thrust due to the blades higher AofA when the aircraft is slow and has a high nose attitude (or close to Vmca).
Keeping the most thrust producing half of the prop disc close to the fuselage reduces rudder required for any given airspeed, or conversely you can fly slower before you run out of rudder.
Thats my 2c anyway
Cheers