An idea from ROGUE ONE I really enjoyed was that the DEATH STAR is powered by the same crystals used in the Lightsabers.
If you were to maintain that the concept of a superweapon powered by such crystals is the objective of the SEPARATISTS, then could the world’s they invade/conquer (so NABOO) be Kyber rich worlds? Perhaps even GEONOSIS is actually a superweapon in progress - much like STARKILLER base (which could also be re-explained in a VII edit as a forgotten other version).
One rewrite I did of AOTC had the separatists use a oxygen destroyer that made a planet very inhospitable but still livable. That way we would escalate the weaponry and go from that terrible weapon to the ultimate one: the DS in the OT that doesnt just make planets terrible to live on but destroys them.