I’m so glad you had fun reading the whole journey! I need to read back from about page 50 myself to pick up some old notes for future polish and my other post-release plans!
The Dooku episodes of TOTJ aren’t vital to TCW, as you say, but I definitely think they add value to the prequel movies and work well as a chronological introduction to the franchise and the prequels.
I really hope you enjoy the show!