This, 100%. I like Yoda’s prequel arc in theory, but having him swing around a lightsaber while jumping like an idiot was a huge mistake that devalues his character. Hal’s prequel edits are some of my favorite ones, at least partially because he removed every instance of Yoda using a lightsaber.
I don’t understand this point of view. I can see why it might break your suspension of disbelief, but how does it devalue his character in any way? We know that light-sabers are the weapon of the Jedi, and building one is supposedly some kind of right-of-passage according to Vader in ROTJ, so why wouldn’t Yoda use one?
‘What does God need with a spaceship?’
The image a lot of people had of Yoda and the Emperor in the original films was of beings who had no need for traditional weapons, since they could shoot lightning and lift X-wings with their minds.
It would be like Gandalf and Sauruman fighting in Orthanc with swords. Sure, Gandalf had a sword and used it on occasion, but Sauruman didn’t and he was seen as Gandalf’s superior. Their battle was one of pure magical will.
So when Yoda and Dooku pulled out their swords to go at it, this implied that swords still held some importance as to the winner of the fight. It’s even worse with Yoda against Palpatine. The fact that either of them thought that a swordfight would be decisive shows how small these characters really are.