It definitely seems like an overly complicated way of doing it.
I turned off the icons on my top level navigation because I don't really need them. I had planned (at a later date) to add logo icons next to each team in the child menu items. Hopefully this is easier than what you are encountering. I've done it before with mega menu and didn't have to jump through these hoops.
Fortunately, that will be one of the last things I do with this site, and since I have so much other work to get done, it will be a while before I have to worry about it. Maybe someone will chime in with an easier approach between now and then.