I'm not disagreeing with you mate, everything you have said is valid but I don't look so deep into the whole thing, I saw Star Wars when I was 9 in '77 and I got the concept that the Imperial (faceless) Fighters were dispensable, they flew the 'off-the-production-line' ships which were also dispensable, but the Rebels...you were feeling their loss by the end of the movie at Yavin, thats what the OT was all about.... you can have all the power in the galaxy and it's worth nothing.
J