The actual truth is, many of the original Transformers were so sick of the war that they just kitbashed a lot of Insecticon corpses, spray painted themselves black, or even made life size decoys of themselves entirely out of coal dust, in an attempt to quietly escape the carnage, sneaking away after their own funerals. Several took to using somewhat off-model shells to disguise themselves as Transformers-tribute idol group, as documented in their Kotobukia merchandising, with the three seekers being the main act, Megatron often posing as their fanboy-hating manager. Starscream's voice was known for being absolutely angelic. Unknown to each other's group, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper, who had been making the rounds at anime cons as famous cosplayers, have been big fans for years, and they've all met up at those creepy Handshake events, none the wiser. So far the only one who's figured it out is Nemesis Prime, who finds the whole thing too confusing to even know who to tell about it.
This takes place in the same continuity where everyone claims the Marvel Comic and Sunbow Cartoon are the same timeline, if anyone was wondering.
(I figure after all these decades none of my theories are any crazier or harder to document with official products and fiction than anything else the fandom has come up with. Also in this, the cassettes are food-based BotBots. Rumble is bread, Frenzy is stew).