You and I should hook up mate! I am currently looking into doing my own edit of both Ep1 and Ep2 and many of my planned cuts are the same as yours! So much so it is scary!
One of the other guys on this site sent me this link which someone posted on another site as to the whole process of editing a DVD and then reburning it in DVD quality. Scroll down and one guy has posted the process. Check it out, its simple to follow and when I get my new computer I'll be sure to try it out! Well done!
http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=182859&highlight=