Tack said:

I would have had a scene somewhere in the film of the Emperor, hidden in the shadows entirely, but just enough of a presence.

I like the absence of Emperor in ANH. I love how his character progression in OT. In the first film he is only mentioned in a way that it sparks your interest and get your imagination working. Then in the second film he makes short but interesting call to Vader, which further fuels expectations. And then he finally appears in last film and he is well acted and written.