Like, I’d be ok with them having a kind of presence in the force, like a vibration or something (crystal vibrations are something that plays right into the mysticism angle). I mean, that idea works well with the scene where Chirrut senses Jyn’s necklace in Rogue One.
But having them be semi-sentient and Sith having to bend them to their will to get them to work? And then “bleeding” in response? It’s just dumb.
Exactly. Even in the old Legends continuity there were Sith who didn’t wield red lightsabers, like Exar Kun.
I remember when I was a kid me and a friend speculated that if the Emperor were to wield a lightsaber it would be purple, implying a deeper connection to the dark side. Of course we were just a couple of kids brainstorming over idle subjects.