cloud does not remember his dad; OG didn't go into why he's not around, i believe remake said that he went up mt nibel one day and never came back, so some kind of mountaineering accident?
sorey knows absolutely nothing about his father, which is only slightly less than what he knows about his mother. it doesn't bother him too much because his adoptive grandfather and family loved him so wholly that he was honestly a little spoiled
he does love his dad so so so so so much and craves his attention and approval and love, he likes to snuggle his dad (usually) and he does feel badly when he's disappointed their father
part of it is played as a joke because this is a comedy show (mostly) so every interaction shouldn't be taken as literal or the norm, but donnie is kind of the keeper of the technology, and as the boys get older they are starting to stretch beyond that 'do what dad says bc he's dad' rule
donnie isn't splinter's leash, he just uses it as a cudgel to get even when splinter makes him mad LMAO just like how splinter will do that or the other kids will
i do think he and splinter tend to butt heads more often than splinter and the other boys though; while he likes daddy's approval, i think he and splinter are alike in VERY unfortunate ways. couple that with the fact that donnie doesn't usually go seeking relationship-building interactions and splinter tends to sequester himself a lot, they don't seem-