Dropper lever position

You just have to make it fit the best you can, like this:



Or get a lever that can be connected to the brake lever clamp such as Wolftooth, PNW Components or Bontrager.

Which side it goes may very well depend upon the style of the remote. The Rockshox Reverb (and no doubt many others) is left or right hand underneath the bar. If you want it on top of the bar, the hand becomes opposite. Under the bar is better for lever type remotes because they are out of the way. So if you want the lever under the bar on the left then you need to know exactly which one you want!
Other remotes have a lever that only pivots up and down, like some of the Brand-X ones or by Kind Shock. They can go either side of the bar and only press down. Although I guess you could mount them so that they only press up, but that seems counter-intuitive to me.
For cable operated droppers, you can buy remotes of different design to replace the one you have that you don't like (Wolftooth for ex). You don't have to get them from the dropper manufacturer.

In terms of being cramped... If you are happy to remove your hand from the grip to operate your remote then you can put them anywhere on the bar you like. But if you prefer to leave your hand on the grip and operate the remote with your thumb, then yes you will have to compromise on where the remote goes so that it fits in with your other levers. The exception is if you have Sram brakes and shifters and buy a Reverb, in which case their Matchmaker mounts make easy work of the whole thing. Shimano may do something similar, but their I-spec mount is a poor design in comparison and I've never had a Shimano dropper (not even sure they make one), so I can't comment.

One of the great benefits of going 1x is that mounting the remote becomes a non-problem. It goes on the left! That way, it evens out the work the hands have to do, ie each hand has only two levers to operate. If the remote goes on the right and you go 1x, you have one lever on the left and three on the right!

So, I would strongly advise fitting your remote on the left to start with, because once you go 1x (and you will sooner or later), you don't have to get used to operating the remote from the left instead of the right.

PS: When it comes to finding the correct position, consider swapping the sequence of clamps on the bar. Most bikes come fitted with brake clamp next to the grip, then shifter clamp. Because I use just my index finger for braking, I have the brake clamp a good way from the grip. This leaves room for the shifter to move inboard. In addition to horizontal spacing you need to get the rotational spacing right so that you can push/pull the shifter levers far enough and still be comfortable. Adding in a third lever can make compromise a necessity.

If it is the type of remote that is the left or right side type, with the lever going straight up and down, then you can put it right next to the grip. Like this:


Ignore the gadget inboard of the brake lever, it's a mode shifter for my emtb.

Tape will disintegrate when wet and doesn't grip well even when dry. Cut up a piece of inner tube and use that, grippy! It also has the advantage of being thick enough to make a difference with one layer.

I would double check, but off the top of my head the V2 is better because it's for i-spec standard to fit with combined shift and brake clamps and doesn't have it's own band clamp?