I got the version from GG when it was still a Paradox affiliate. If it is any clue, the game settings also persist after an uninstall, so there must be something outside the paradox folder where they go. I know with V2 I have to look for a second Paradox folder under Users/Myname/Documents but I can't find the analogous folder for EUII.
I just want to weed out some of the excess saves, and parse some of the others. I only mention the persistence after an uninstall as a clue that they are in a folder outside the expected one. If I were looking to manually delete the folders (and someday I likely will) I would still need to find them.
Maybe it is because I can play them?