Some Questions I Have For my Pacific Rim: Uprising Rewrite

I began to write the first draft of my rewrite when I had a few questions that I want answered. When we first arrive at the shatterdome, I was going to introduce the pilots of the Jaegers like Bracer Phoenix, Valor Omega and Saber Athena, so that when they join the final fight, we know who they are. However, when Newt begins his plan, some of the pilots die. This is what my first question is: Is it okay if I use some child pilots for the final fight? It would seem like a waste or something if the cadets were so involved in the film, but didn't have any purpose. I know some people didn't like it, soooo........What do I do? I'm just trying to make it good.

Also, this is a question which doesn't need to be answered, but I feel it might be a little crowded in terms of characters and their use.

In the original film, you've got Nate, who trains the cadets and gets help from Jake. In my rewrite, Raleigh Becket trains the cadets, but then he's got his co-pilot who occasionally assists, named Dembe Abawi. And then you have to have Nate and Jake. Do I get rid of Nate? Or do they all train the cadets now? It just seems like 3 Rangers plus a Jaeger pilot wouldn't have to train a dozen cadets. I'm actually toying around with the idea of removing Nate, now.

I hope this didn't have really bad "desperate for approval" vibes. If it did, just ignore, or say so and I'll delete it. And I got my Gipsy Danger wallpaper from Zedge, for those of you who wanted it.