Okay so if I go ahead with ICO I would prefer security tokens over utility tokens as utility tokens don't suit my business model. But do security tokens like conventional equity shares offer ownership in the company to the holders? and how will they be different from equity shares if I anyway have to comply with the SEC regulations?
If you plan to give out some equity to backers you can have a holding company or one of shareholders / owners at ICO-friendly jurisdiction with easy (but still solid) shareholding relations. That company will have an ownership in your project and backers will have shares in that company.
If it is a buy-back scheme (where you sell the tokens/coins and later buy them back at a higher price) a good option is to have a different company for such ICO in suitable ICO-friendly jurisdiction. That company will collect the funds, provide a loan to your project, and after your project repays the loan and interest distributes the funds again via coins/tokens buy back.
You can also do this via main holding company in ICO-friendly jurisdiction directly, of course with all needed paperwork for compliance and to prevent any issues with banks and regulators.