...for various reasons, one of the biggest being that they run so firkin' COOL...

Question for ya... what color temp are the bulbs you have? Are the larger ones the 2700k, or the smaller ones?

As far as burning things, yeah, you should be able to keep 'em within 1" to 2" of the plants, without problems. I accidentally left my little 13w (60w equiv) 4100k cfl shop light near my plants overnight (during their 'sleep', too!), and the only things that happened were that the colas/calyxes nearby got really bushy overnight, and exactly three fan leaves that were frisky enough to stretch to touch it got burned from where they were touching (and were fine everywhere else).

I sterilized my scissors, clipped off the burn't bits, and the plants didn't notice a thing

If you can, I'd adjust it so that your big bulbs are the 'main' bulbs above, and your smaller ones come in from the sides. If you can manage it, pick up a 6pack of 6500k 100w equiv (26w actual) GE bulbs @ W4llM4rt, should be like 20bux, and squeeze 'em in there with your existing.

Come flowering time, pick up another 6pack in the 2700k Warm White color, and squeeze /those/ in there, too. You should have more than enough overkill