The whole fucking argument is that you don't need relatable villains for a good movie.

Acknowledging that woobifying Vader happened later isn't pedantic, it is the point.

You don't have to empathize with Palpatine. He's a manipulative dictator. You don't have to empathize with Tarkin. You don't really need to empathize with any of the generals Vader chokes in the original trilogy. You are not expected to wonder about the inner life and emotional state of the bounty hunters who must be told, "no disintegrations."

It is fine for a movie to have bad guys who are just fucking bad guys. Sometimes - that's how it is in real life.