Instead of having basically the same principle as the OT, I’d make it a war on equal ground between the First Order and the New Republic. The First Order have the advantages of powerful vehicles, a fast attack strategy and an unknown base of operations. The New Republic have the advantages of numbers, Experience, and heroes from both the Alliance and the Resistance, whom in this continuity are a task force sent to deal with the First Order instead of an independent group. The Force Awakens would generally stay the same (but Rey wouldn’t know more about the Falcon than Han. That’s just stupid.), but in 8 the Resistance would regroup with the main NR forces instead of just running away. However, the First Order would be able to Blitzkrieg their way to Coruscant, where they would set up their new Empire’s Capital like it was in Palpatine’s day, since the Republic has already been dealt a serious blow from the loss of Hosnian prime. 8 would focus around the NR regrouping and planning their next attack strategy. Instead of practically no time at all passing between 8 and 9, a span of several months or even years would pass, the war between the two forces prolonged. Then, the First Order receives a transmission from not palpatine, but Plagueis, who was revealed to have survived Palpatine’s assassination, and had used “Snoke’s” body to rule the first order by transferring his essence. Kylo Ren goes to Moraband using coordinates found in Vader’s old castle to confront him. Meanwhile, Poe travels the galaxy searching for any advantage for the NR, and finds several groups willing to join them. Some of the groups could be a colony of “free” clones, the New Mandalorians led by either Sabine, the survived Boba Fett, or even The Mandalorian, Thrawn and Ezra returning from the Uknown Regions, Kalani and his army of Battle Droids, and Lando from Cloud City. While Poe does this, Finn goes to coruscant to lead a stormtrooper uprising, and Rey goes to the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant to find anything that could give them an edge. The First Order, not to be outdone, gains the support and leadership of Plagueis, as well as Palpatine’s old flagship, the Eclipse, and many more fighters and troops from the new Sith Empire. aaand that’s about as far as I could go before I hit a blank.