So I had some thoughts about integrating Madine into the battle as captain of the Liberty that gets blown up:

First show him before the jump to hyperspace, saying one of the lines he really says in the deleted scene: "May the force be with us all."

Show him again when everyone finds out "it's a trap," maybe even having him be the one to radio in to Home One and say, "Admiral, we have enemy ships in sector 47."

Finally, show him listening as one of his bridge crew reports an energy buildup in the Death Star, show the superlaser firing upon the Mon Cal cruiser, briefly show this picture:

with some screaming of course, and the whole thing fading to white and explosions on the bridge, then show the cruiser blow up.

Then when Lando says, "That blast came from the Death Star." Change his next line, while the camera is focused on Nien Nunb, to a whispered, "General Madine..."

Maybe. Maybe not.

Also, I'm getting all the lines from the Lost Rebel pilots (they're all mostly the same anyway). I'm thinking of multiple ways to construct a brief scene where two A-wing female pilots, and a Sullustan and Mon Calamari pilot, begin an attack run on the main communication star destroyer bridge. Nothing drastic, just an opportunity to expand upon the space battle and make it more exciting.

I'm also trying to come up with some other space battle action, using the novel mostly as a premise, to expand the length of the battle.