I see, you’re tapering at the end of your cycles. That may be easier side effects-wise as the hormones won’t fluctuate as wildly as they would coming completely off, but the problem is like Dog said you’re lengthening the time your HPTA is shutdown which could do more damage than temporary side effects caused by dropping test completely.
I totally understand your problem statement and you’re 100% correct, it’s what every guy who wants to continue to cycle faces...the decision whether to BnC or not. What you’re currently doing isn’t much better shutting yourself down for 8 months of the year. If you want a middle ground you could decide to BnC for 8-9 months of the year and come off completely for a few months. There’s no guarantee and you’re still setting yourself up for lifetime TRT.