Looking at the pic I don't know how you can ride like that at all. Everything is scrunched to the front. No wonder your knees are buzzing the drops.
Shorter cranks will make things WORSE. IMO. Move the elbows and seat back.
I've used everything from 165 to 180. Makes NO difference to my knees. The 180 was on my tour bike. It made a big diff to torque with lower cadence.
Now I have 167, 170 and 175. I go anywhere on centuries with any of these 3 bikes. Some days I ride all 3. LOL.
3 diff IGHs and 3 diff width Dutch swept bars. The narrow one used on my second tour does feel narrow. My stems are all the same and DIY made.