Dwarves still in the Ered Mithrin?

[Kuruharan]

Actually I think they may have tried to live secretly in lesser mines and mansions at the southern feet of the mountains away from the dragons who inhabited the Withered Heath

-and-

I think they lived rather secretly because if the dragons and goblins got wind of them they would have been all over the dwarves like flies on a animal carcass.

I can't say that I disagree with you, but since Thorin sent messages to them they must have been able to field forces of some military significance. Of course, Thorin might have been grasping at straws.

I think there might be some indication given about where Dwarves in the Grey Mountains may have lived. The Dwarves of the Iron Hills are the closest to the Lonely Mountain, which may rule out the possibility that significant numbers of dwarves lived in the southeastern spur of the Grey Mountains. It might be more likely that the Dwarves would live nearer the source of the Great River to be in the area where Men might still live so they could trade. Of course, that would get them close to the orc center of Gundabad, but this might make some sort of sense because the orc center of Gundabad was formerly a dwarf center of Gundabad until around TA 1300-1409 (to the best of my guesstimation).