[urinotherapist]

Unlike regular waves, photons are topologically stable, like smoke-ring kind of wave. Google hopfions for example.

If you like hydrodynamic quantum analogs (walking droplets), then you may see that droplet may escape it pilot wave sometimes. In such cases, pilot wave continue to travel in same direction for some time. IMHO, it's similar to how photons are formed: electron creates pilot wave, then escapes it, similar to Cherenkov radiation.

Anyway, photons have special configuration, so they behaves differently than regular waves.

Gravitational waves, AFAIK, are not topologically stable at all.