Exactly which makes me think that Koume And Kotake were the ones to create the Iron Knuckles, via brainwashing, the Iron Knuckles were, you could say, the prototype and the darknuts are transformed gerudo, the original nuts were born from darkness and were demonic creatures, we see them in MC...
Actually i was basing it on the fact that after OOT there are no traces of Gerudo in two timelines and in the third they live deeper in the desert that or the deserts advanced, and that we see a lot more Iron knuckles and dark nuts afterwards
Hey it takes a long time to learn the organ and grow yer hair out like a hippy y'know.
But for real i think by ALTTP/TP/WW time ganondorfs used gerudo as an army either as iron knuckles or possibly darknuts (maybe koume n kotake were the only ones able to make iron knuckles)
But that's just it all ganondorf wanted was power, when he touched the triforce it split into three because his heart wasn't balanced, when it did split each part found a host who most represented it and in Ganon's case it was always power, he later justifies himself and event to a degree...