Many of Palpatine's servants are patriots willing to fight and die for their Empire, even when said Empire is at its nadir; that's what you call patriotism.
Palpatine and Tarkin created a public works program that employed countless trillions of people, as Stormtroopers, TIE Fighter Pilots, Imperial Army grunts, factory workers, among other things, allowing wealth to be transferred from the state to the public in the form of wages paid for doing jobs, as opposed to the Republic who just left your average dork who isn't in bed with the Senate or local rulers/corporations to rot. Especially in the new canon, where they specifically fired the clones from the army so that there'd be jobs for tax-paying citizens. That's what you call generosity.
Running off the last part, creating a large military means that the Empire put an end to the countless internal conflicts that the Jedi typically referee, while at the same time, kneecaping corporations and preventing them from amassing large, private armies like the way the Jedi and the Republic allowed them to do. It goes to show responsibility on the Empire's part, that they don't just let rich assholes run around with their private armadas and armies or wage private wars with each other as if they owned the place. Not only that, but some parts of the Empire cracked down on criminal activities more so than the Republic did, as evidenced by Han Solo booting his cargo of spice when he saw an Imperial cruiser coming his way.
The ISB pays strict attention to detail and promotes officers based on merit, which we see in Andor where Dedra Meero gets promoted when she proves herself to be more interested in the matters of state compared to her office rival. Same goes for the military, where guys like Vader space privileged brats like Admiral Ozzel and replace them with competent officers like Captain Piett, while taking the advice of competent leaders like General Veers. This shows good judgement; you promote people based on what they can do and how eager they are to serve, not because they have political or familial connections.
