Remove those flavor wicks and you're gonna have a whole new problem--flooding.
Those things are there for a reason. Don't take them out. If the middle of those wicks are blackened, they need to be replaced. There's no way to clean them by dry burning and that blackened area doesn't wick well. Since you already have wick and wire, you already have the material you need.
If the coil and wick are blackened, they need to be washed and dry burned until clean. You might have to repeat the wash/dry burn cycle a few times before the coil and wick are back to working order. You should wash and dry burn after every Protank full of liquid. A few minutes can save hours of frustration and tinkering to restore order.
If it's just "harsh," as in heavy throat hit, then it means that the coil and wick are efficiently vaporizing a lot of liquid and delivering a nicotine punch. Throat hit comes from nicotine. If it's too harsh, you might want to dilute your liquid with some VG, which masks throat hit.
If it's "burnt," as in it tastes like a burning napkin or piece of cloth, then the wicks are too restricted in their ability to move liquid across the coil. The coil is vaporizing the liquid faster than they can deliver it. Silica wicks don't burn, but partially vaporized liquid and flavorings will first turn to gunk, and then the gunk burns.
You might want to try rebuilding the coil, but if you do so, make sure you have a way of measuring the resistance of the end result.