Drones currently are heavy, buzzy, annoying things. I have one, and it has tried to bite me, and it has chased me around fields and I feel in some ways that it will eventually be the end of me. It may only live 20 minutes at a time but during that time could conceivably be a long and painful crime.
So,
what if we made drones really weak and not in control of themselves anymore. Reducing them to the status of fan wielding slave.
Remove all flight circuitry from the thing, apart from simple receptors that control RPM per blade.
Replace the blades with giant balsawood and rice paper quarter spirals, about a foot across, or a meter if you are british.
The drones are controlled by an external machine; they are effectively thin drones. They fly from your domain out to your poolside and cool you in the hot afternoons. They flutter above your head, almost noiselessly buffeting your forehead. The larger ones contain small reservoirs of liquid, which atomizes above you and drifts down lightly on your skin. Some can also contain propylene gylcol, and puff apple and cardamon scents.
Standing up, you accidentally brush against one; the fans crush lightly and it falls to the ground. You kick it into the pool. Another drone launches from the the domain, a fresh one, with more cardamon.