Late continuation, but I will chip in some thoughts anyway:
If we can get John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten to remain in the band, the odds are actually quite good. Relations between Lydon and Jones have always been all right, at least after things had settled a bit from the breakup. I am unsure about Paul Cook, but given his status as something of a sidekick to Jones I suspect he would be willing to remain together as well. The main conflict - which continues to this day - is Lydon and Matlock, who still don't like each other.
Lydon departed because he found the entire thing had become a sideshow and a farce, due to the Sid Vicious situation and McLaren's exploitation of the same. What we need is either:
- Sid never getting into heroin and if possible mature and clean up his act - he was known for stunts like injecting speed dissolved in toilet water even before meeting Nancy). A beginning would be never meeting her in the first place.
- Nancy dying earlier, and Sid deciding he wants to live after all, cleaning up. The band takes some time off, Sid uses the time to practice and becoming a decent if not virtuoso bass player - possibly getting into dub music like Lydon and their mutual friend Jah Wobble during a holiday in Jamaica. Which may again lead to a later career as a DJ or solo performer inspired by the genre.
- Sid dying earlier or quitting the band. Matlock returning is unlikely, a natural replacement could be the above-mentioned John Warble AKA Jah Wobble.
A fallout with McLaren should hopefully be the next step. The next years are interesting: Does the Pistols go the same way as other first-generation British punks, moving into some kind of postpunk/New Wave territory? I have no trouble seeing them recording a more experimental second album sounding like a cross between NMTBHTSP and the first PiL album featuring songs like Annalisa and Public Image.
