On further consideration, I think that I would have ended Season 7 something like this:
I would start back at "Dirty Girls." Faith arrives in town, the gang goes to the vineyard, and Buffy decides to leave the Potentials outside under Xander's command while she, Spike, and Faith check out the wine cellar. They confront Caleb there, and by coordinating their attack, they are able to defeat him in the same way that a pack of wolves brings down a much larger and stronger moose, by keeping him totally in a defensive mode, never being able to attack one fighter before another strikes from behind. The fight might be long and bloody, but Caleb's fate would be inevitable. By attrition, Buffy, Spike, and Faith are able to take him down.
From that point, with little or no injuries to Xander or the Potentials, there is no cause for any ill feelings or mutiny. Willow is able to work a locator spell, Buffy recovers the Scythe, and the rest of the Season is spent picking off the now leaderless Bringers and planning for the upcoming Big Finale. (We see Xander and Giles raiding local Sporting Goods stores and Hardware stores to obtain enough proper weapons for everyone, while Andrew and Anya stock up on medical supplies. Wood and several Potentials outfit a school bus as a combination troop transport and assault vehicle.)
Comes the big day, Buffy, Spike, and Faith lead the Potentials down into the hellmouth with several barrels of gasoline, a pump and torches, creating a fire and fighting a holding action, keeping the army of ubervamps at bay while Xander and Giles rig enough explosives at the portal opening to seal it up for all eternity. Dynamite set, fuses laid out, detonator rigged, Xander radios Buffy (they have walkie talkies) the fighters beat a hasty retreat, the plunger is pushed, and the explosion is deafening. Then Willow casts a Retaining Spell over the rubble, sealing it for all eternity, everybody loads up on the bus, and they all head out for Cleveland to set up headquarters over Hell Mouth #2.
In my version, there is no Angel, no amulet, no cookie dough speech, no self sacrificing Spike, no deus ex machina of any kind. Buffy and her little army kick ass, take names, and head off into the sunset, bound for new adventures beginning on the new Faith spinoff next year.
Eat your heart out, Joss Whedon!