So, can we get rid of the Hays and thus ensure a happier marriage? Maybe have someone else supplant John in whatever capacity he served.
But also, JFES was a relatively sharp tack in comparison with his dad, surely he must've realized that the Hays were bad if everyone was saying so?
You would think so, but remember that one of the most fatal traits of the Stuarts was their devotion to their favorites. When James III met the Hays and Murrey it was the time after the '15, when he was expelled from France and forced to move to Avignon and later Italy. So a period of transition. To James the Scots represented people who were loyal to him and willing to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. He wanted advisers close to his age and thought that appointing Protestant Scots would help win him favor in Britain. Unfortunately this obviously backfired.
The Jacobites hated their haughty and arrogant personalities, considering them upstarts. James III's Catholic supporters, specifically the King and Queen of Spain, disliked the appointment of Protestants. Finally the English hated the appointment of Scots, fearing that in the event of a Restoration the government would be dominated by the Scottish. Matters came to a head when the Earl of Inverness was made Governor to the Prince of Wales. This led to the Queen fleeing to a convent and remaining there for two years. Of course it didn't help that Murrey and his sister had treated the Queen like crap when she first arrived in Rome, persuading the King to deny her an independent Household or attendants worthy of her rank.
Basically it was a perfect storm the ended up making James III look like a fool, horribly damaged the Jacobite movement and could be indirectly blamed for insuring that the Stuarts died in exile rather then being restored to their thrones.