I must say I enjoyed this one. I found the first half hour much more bearable without the awful R2D2 CGI antics. The parts that actually work in the film can be enjoyed more readily.
Actually, I grabbed the v1, as I wasn't so sure about the Death Star change. Including the Death Star was cheesy and lame, but I figure if there's any point in the trilogy that they should be allowed to get away with that kind of 'fan service', it's in the last few minutes connecting it to the OT.
After reading some reviews, I was kind of concerned that Anakin's visions of Padme's death and subsequent discussions of them would be *completely* left out, leaving no discernible reason for him to give Palpatine the time of day after learning who he is. I'm glad that you simply reduced the presence of this idea. At least this was true for v1. Hopefully for v3, as I've deleted v1 :)
I did end up grabbing the v3, as it appears to have both the Seeds of Rebellion and Loyalists deleted scenes, rather than just one. And there are some minor fixes (intact lightsaber sound when attacking droids/Grevious on the bridge). The Coruscant sequence actually looks very nice.
The 'Padme lives' ending ending was well executed. But I have mixed feelings about the idea. It's a more striking change than most of your trilogy, which seamlessly chops out the worst parts in ways often no different than a TV network editing something for time. Though, obviously you improve it in the process. I did actually kind of like the deception of Padme apparently pregnant at her funeral. And I don't mind altered continuity, it's practically tradition at this point. But by leaving Vader's terrible "Noo", you leave the idea of her perceived death intact.
So, very nice job. Thanks for these, and see you at v4. :P
edit: By the way, all three V3 movies gave me scrambled video as bluray unless I selected "Do not change SEI/VUI data". Didn't check v1.
