It seem strange that you should select Delaware as your standard, given that you require your companies to be in California -- incorporating in Delaware is dishonest when you are not actually there.
Incorporating in Delaware is standard practice for any US corporation. Not only are there tax and legal advantages, but since everyone else incorporates in Delaware, Delaware case law is extraordinarily mature, so legal risks are minimized. It may seem dishonest to the uninitiated, but the people who specialize in such things are well aware of Delaware.
Companies can incorporate wherever works for them ie Delaware. If they are actually doing business in CA then they register as a foreign entity with CA (Foreign because they incorporated in DE) so there is nothing dishonest about it.