What are you hoping to accomplish by pinching back? You are complaining that your plants aren't growing. They are growing but you keep pinching them back. The only reason to pinch back is to encourage side branching. Wherever you pinch, the two leaf nodes directly below will grow new branches.
Photo #2 is Cocks Comb and #3 is Persian Shield. Cocks Combs are annuals meaning it will die this fall/winter. Moving it inside will not change that.
