I don't care for Yoda with a lightsaber. Besides being the mentor, he was also the most mystical of the Jedi. He thought of his body (well, Luke's body) as "crude matter," did not believe that size made any difference to the Force, he used the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. He should not have engaged in a lightsaber duel. He should not have engaged in a throwing things duel, either. That's simply a lightsaber duel with a different weapon. Yoda should've fought with his voice, with persuasion, with illusion, even through manipulation of space and time. In my interpretation, Yoda would not have concerned himself with the material plane at all.

Palpatine, on the other hand, had none of Yoda's transcendental conceits. He was all about power; acquiring it, brandishing it, and wielding it against his enemies. For that reason, I have no problem with him whipping out a lightsaber and going to town with it. What did disappoint me, however, is how easily he fell into the Jedi pattern of ritualistic dueling. I would've expected a Sith to get right to business without the repartee. Especially after Maul.