Let's not water this down too much though--the Special Editions really are bad. Now, that's in my opinion, of course, but that opinion is widely shared, especially in these forums. Yes, it would be a lovely world in which all versions were available for everyone to enjoy, but that wouldn't make them immune to criticism.

I don't hate them because they're revised--there are many revised cuts out there that I hate and many that I love. I hate the Special Editions because they are worse than the originals (a characteristic they share with other revised cuts I dislike). In isolation, A New Hope SE is merely middling, Empire SE is still good, and Jedi SE is rather awful. But they're not in isolation--relative to the original versions of each, they are all without exception worse. Again, others may feel differently and bully for them I suppose but that's the view from over here. Then there's the historical preservation angle which is much less forgiving.

Is it fair to judge Empire SE (which is good in isolation) against the original Empire, and downrate it simply because it's across-the-board worse? I think so. Most good-but-flawed films you can give a pass, because you're comparing them against a perfect version of the film that doesn't exist. The SE's don't get that pass because the idealized versions actually exist.