And all this is ignoring the argument for historical preservation and simple decency in preserving the work of those who originally made the films, such as the craftspeople who did the matte paintings and model work that has been simply erased.
Just out of curiosity, do you recall off hand what matte paintings or model work was erased? I thought I was pretty familiar with the Special Edition changes, but I can’t recall off hand any actual models or matte paintings that were erased. I thought the Special Editions mostly just added things, like adding additional frames (e.g. arrival at Mos Eisley) or inserting things into existing frames. I know they removed some frames of Stormtroopers getting shot, which sucks, along with various other tweaks ranging from irrelevant to dramatically harmful, but IIRC most (or all?) of the original matte paintings are still there (like the Death Star hangar bay, Yavin IV temples, etc.)
Actually, both of the examples you mentioned were replaced for the SE. The new mattes do look better from an objective point of view, but the original work has still been erased.
Also, several model shots were replaced with CGI, especially during the climactic Death Star battle. Again, most of the new shots look better, but that doesn’t change the fact that real people worked their asses off to achieve those shots, and it’s just gone now. Of course, if the original versions were officially available, this wouldn’t be a problem.