Of course, now that the majority of the Star Wars fanbase has grown to appreciate the prequels, that decision has backfired horribly, but Disney had no way of seeing it back then.
The prequels are still just as big of a joke today as they were 15 years ago and the majority of Star Wars fans know it. Just because people have more of a sardonic appreciation for them now doesn’t make them any less bad. Disney made the right decision rejecting Lucas’ story ideas. It’s their decisions after that which are questionable.