Yeah, continuity aside, the Death Star doesn’t play into the prequel story at all, especially not AOTC. It’s an unneeded cameo which muddies the water for no payoff. The ending of ROTS has the Death Star being built, and at least there it is relevant since it shows that the Empire is in place and that the OT is coming next, contrived as that may be.
What would be cool IMHO is to make the Death Star at the end of 3 look like the schematics from RO and ANH with the dish on the equator.