RotJ is my favorite film of the OT.  Maybe because I first watched when I was a kid, but I never found the Ewoks to be too cutesy or annoying.  An added bit of lightheartedness, sure, but an acceptable amount that didn't detract from the film.  There are a few things about RotJ that work in its favor for me. 

--Finally, after two movies of build-up, no more Luke as a wide-eyed farmboy, or whiny Jedi wannabe who barely understands his powers.  He's now a confident Jedi, in control of his powers, and ready to kick ass with his lightsaber.  

--The space battle over Endor was way more epic than anything seen in the previous movies.  

--Now that we know Darth Vader is Luke's father and that he was seduced to the dark side, it gives a greater depth and complexity to the entire Star Wars saga.  RotJ is when we finally realized that Star Wars is primarily about the Skywalker family and the greater struggle between the light and dark side of the Force, of which the Rebellion's stand against the Empire is merely the current backdrop. 

--It provides a satisfying conclusion to the story. This is the biggest weakness of ESB, IMO.

My ranking of thus films current looks like this:

1. RotJ
2. ESB 
3. TFA
3. RotS, ANH (tie)
4. AotC
5. TPM

I think the inferior level of the first two prequel films casts an unfair shadow on RotS, which I think is a much stronger film and deserves to be judged on its own merits.  And while I still love ANH, I think of the OT films it hasn't aged nearly as well.  Also, when seen in context of the entire series, it's the most disconnected from the larger mythology.  Prior to TFA, my wife and I watched the entire series in Machete order, and Episode 4 works much better as a gentle introduction to the series than a middle chapter.  Similarly, Episode 3 is a much better lead in to RotJ than ANH.  The Emperor's goading of Luke and Vader's doubt and subsequent return to the light have a greater depth when you've just seen the Anakin's fall to the dark side.  You have a better understanding of why Luke has faith that there is still good in Vader when you've just seen the (flawed) hero that he was before.
 

So is anyone interested in discussing theories about the various mysteries raised in TFA?

I think it's pretty clear that Rey is meant to be a Skywalker. And I think this is one of those cases where the obvious choice is going to be the right one. Besides all of the in-movie clues, I think the biggest clue was in one of the early trailers where you hear Luke's voiceover saying "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. You have that power too." The trailers were ambiguous as to who the main hero character would be, and I'm fairly certain they were banking on most people's preconceived notions that the main hero character would be Finn because he's the guy and therefore Rey must be the supporting character. But now that we know Rey is the main hero character, it gives more meaning to that voiceover.

Even though being of the Skywalker family is obvious (I'll go one step further into the obvious camp and state that I think she is Luke's daughter), I think the real mystery is not meant to be her lineage, but the circumstances surrounding her abandonment. Who was her mother and where is she now? Why was she left on Jakku?

Another mystery: Who is Snoke? Lots of theories online thinking that he's a resurrected Sith lord, possibly Darth Plagueis, or even Vader or Palpatine. I also read one interesting theory that posits Grand Moff Tarkin survived the destruction of the first Death Star (perhaps that one lackey who suggested readying an escape pod actually DID ready that escape pod), licked his wounds in the background for a couple of movies, while secretly plotting to take over once the Empire sees its demise. It would fit in with the many many nods to Episode 4.

Here's one that I don't see much discussion about -- Who is Maz Kanata? She says she's not a Jedi, yet she clearly has knowledge about the Force. And if this story is to believed, she is a Force user herself.  Is she a former/retired Jedi?  A Force-sensitive who simply never took up training but picked up some tricks along the way?

Did you put the 3 films at the bottom because of Jar Jar Binks? 

No, not really. Jar Jar Binks doesn't really bother me as much as he does some others. Is he my favourite character? No, of course not, but he's no more annoying than, say, young Anakin ...or teenage Anakin, for that matter.

The reason that those three films are at the bottom of my list is because I think the prequel trilogy are simply the three worst films overall...and I mean "worst" in terms of their scripting, direction and acting, not just because I happened to dislike a particular character. I think they all have their moments of greatness, sure, but the prequels are all quite badly made from a directorial point of view.

The Phantom Menace, which has the most Jar Jar of all the prequel films, is actually my favourite. To me, TPM looked like a Star Wars film, it sounded like a Star Wars film and it just felt like Star Wars film. Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, really didn't. There was much too much dark, oh-so-gritty fan service in the 2nd and 3rd movies for my tastes and the love story -- the love story between Anakin and Padme, which was absolutely pivotal to the entire saga -- was laughably unbelievable, extremely poorly written and acted, and ultimately left the audience thinking, "so what?" That flaw alone (and there were plenty of others, so don't get me started on what was wrong with AOTCs), will always make Attack of the Clones the worst and least likable Star Wars film for me.

It was damn near a 3 way tie, but - while I'm fine with the Ewoks - I concede that the story on the ground was lacking compared to the Luke/Vader/Emperor confrontation.

my list

1. Star Wars
2. Return of the Jedi
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Force Awakens
5. Revenge of the Sith
6. Phantom Menace
7. Attack of the Clones

Perhaps he's in denial? Or maybe his therapist has told him not to talk about it any more.

On the same subject, where are the two Ewok movies - Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor?