Khan’s followers — Why loyalty & no initiative?

[CoveTom]

For most of their life, Khan was all they knew—mostly younger folks.

They got dumped into a space battle sight unseen—no time to plot a coup when your head is spinning.

Of course, not originally. In "Space Seed," Khan and his followers were all mostly the same age, which makes sense. But in TWOK, they are all miraculously far younger than Khan.

 

[DonIago]

I think Greg Cox's version of events, where Khan's followers in TWOK are the children of his original followers, makes the most sense and helps to explain why they'd be even more loyal than Khan's original followers. It also would explain the change from Joaquin to Joachim. But I'll freely admit that the film neglects to provide any explanation and it's very possible TPTB didn't (or couldn't be bothered to) think it through.