I am afraid that it is not possible. Every time you make a copy of a DC and alter its attributes, the Component browser acquires a new component definition. Only exact copies of a DC remain under the same definition. Selecting a bunch and applying the same change to all of them creates a new definition for every single member of the bunch, so the only way to keep the bloat in check is to apply changes to only one instance, and then to make copies of that.
Anssi