is it me, or is it the wAP ax?

Yep.
If you get similar antennas but with a joint, you could mount them directly and orient them at 45 degrees diverging, set aside the weatherproofing issues they may work.
The hgo-out are “normal” antennas, I don’t think they are better or worse than other similar ones, if set apart enough will work just fine.
The typical radiation pattern of these kind of antennas Is a toroid (a doughnut) that Is fatter for lower gain antennas and thinner for higher gain ones.
See:
http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/does-size-of-antenna-matter/177500/1