Hayden destroyed more than Vader he also ruined Anakin Skywalker. But Natalie ruined the Skywalker mom role in episodes II and III.
The characters were kind of not very well sketched out in the first film but they had a essential humanity that was lacking in II and III.
The novelizations even though not the best did better than Lucas. They focused on the human aspects of the characters and could not distract with cgi for lack of everything.
The fact is Lucas was such a bad writer and director that it took tie in books, usually considered garbage to serious readers of sci fi and fantasy and two prolific authors, who are considered bad writers for the first 2 prequel novelizations and a top rate author for the third.
The first a writer of Tolkien pastiche without the linguistics or scholarly background also known as a consumate plagiarist right up their with Lucas, and the second a writer of dungeons and dragons knockoff novels of forgotten realms, also a Tolkien re-writer.
The third a successful science fiction writer and one of the best star wars writers until the crap that was mindor.
Episodes II and III not only needed less yes men, and help from other writers and directors but a hell of a lot more drafts of the scripts. Episode 1 despite what people think of it took as long as the original star wars did, and almost as many drafts. Three rather than five?
The second and third seem to be hastily sketched as if directed and written from the art department. Lazy Lucas, was Lazy.
If he could not give star wars the treatment it deserved and not phoned in hack work garbage, then he should have left well enough alone. Except ego and lack of funds got control. Such hits like howard the duck and young indiana jones,lol. That what made him return to wars not love of the material.