Fair questions. In the original version the two pivotal confrontations (Rey and Kylo & Rey and Palpatine) are resolved by outside intervention rather than by Rey and Kylo themselves.
My solution to the latter is to replace the Jedi voices with her own inner dialogue coming to terms with her nature. It’s this balance that allows her to stand with past Jedi and finally defeat Palpatine.
The former, however, I didn’t have an answer for until I saw SpenceEdit’s work. By having the confrontation between Rey and Kylo play out just between them it re-centers the narrative.
The scenes we do lose don’t outweigh what we gain in focus and added emotional tension and payoff in the first act—at least theoretically.
Regarding Palpatine, I would prefer to keep him more of a looming presence in the film until later. It’s not for any kind of big reveal but just to keep his characterization as far away from schlocky villain as possible.