I don't mind if you do not like my ideas so here is another for you!

It is a good idea to have the bothans stealing the plans as a new opening , so if you were to use a flipshot of the opening scene of episode IV replace the tantive with a Bothan frigate and change the planet surface to another?, could be a good place to start, and start ROTJ in a simlar fashion to A new hope.

You would need to show a command bridge with a Bothan putting the frigate into self destruct. so a Bothan Hand would be needed to push a button say.

show escape pods departing for the planets surface. but straight after have the Bothan Frigate self destruct before the star destroyers loading bay doors pull the frigate in for boarding.

This also makes their escape possible and show the star destroyer badly damaged as a result of an almost terror bombing tactic.

say 8 pods depart and the damaged Star destroyer mangers to take out 6 of them

Would it need explainong though?