The films were made for kids... they were made with them in mind... purposefully...
We just happen to see in the films what we wish to see in the films...
If I may be so bold, to look at the films through the lens of "Empire" is... well... nearsighted...
I can understand loving Empire... I can even understanding wanting to up the others to its level... but by looking at the other films through that sort of stigma, you will loose a great deal of wealth and depth available within the films.
I didn't present the falcon here as a possible argument. As I clearly stated, there are ways of going about showing or explaining the falcons problems. Neither of which were done very effectively.
We aren't explained why the Falcon is in such disrepair. I mean, if they had enough time to build up the echo base in ice, they had enough time to fix the falcon.
Maybe they just came back from a great battle? Don't know... doesn't say in the opening scroll or something...
Maybe they just haven't had time because they've been running... That is alluded to, but the state of disrepair the falcon is in in Empire, I doubt they would have escaped many battles.
We go from seeing how great the falcon is in A New Hope, to seeing it not working at all in Empire, to saving it saving the day in Jedi... it's a strange arc...
But as I stated, there are ways to show it not working without "mocking" it ... which they do, perhaps with subtley.
Han solo is this strong Rebellious character in ANH, but in Empire, he's gone soft... seems unintelligent and unsure how to deal with his own ship... which is strange seeing how in ANH he makes it seem like he knows the ship in and our... like the back of his hand...
That's my point.