I don't know why Luca$h introduced the idea of midichlorians and I don't care. The Jedi and Sith are much more interesting if the Force is part of everyone but these people can actually use it to do their own will. It would make sense that Jedi and Sith are first taught to sense the energy field, then to read its ebb and flow and then, finally, to manipulate the field. The Jedi and Sith and even orders within those groups would differ according to the principles and techniques that they practice. Skills are developed over years and decades. Some individuals may have a particular aptitude and can develop quickly, while others may struggle to master even basic skills.
I think the Clone Wars would work well as a parallel struggle: Jedi versus Sith and Republic versus Empire. This is similar to how the struggle of the Rebel Alliance is compared to the fight between Luke and Vader in ROTJ. The fate of the Jedi and the Sith are inextricably linked to the fate of the galaxy because they represent the opposing sides of the Force which binds the galaxy together.
I don't believe that Stormtroopers could kill Jedi any more than I think "five pistolaires could do in Josey Wales". Sidious' Sith Lords go out and hunt down the Jedi Knights while the battle rages between the Imperial Stormtroopers and the Republican forces. I think the war ends too quickly in the existing PT. When we first see Anakin and Obi-Wan, they should be in their 20s and, I think, the war should already have been going for several years. It shouldn't end before they're both in their late 40s.
When Obi-Wan first notices how strong Anakin is with the Force, the Jedi and Sith have been fighting for years and both sides have suffered heavy losses. He takes it upon himself to train Anakin, because he doesn't think there's time for Anakin to go through the usual training regime and go to Dagobah to be with Master Yoda. The training process becomes complicated by the fact that Anakin is controlled by his passions. This will usually overturn his concentration. This leaves him vulnerable to persuasion by the dark side.
Obi-Wan is a General with the Republicans when he meets Anakin, who is a fighter pilot. Obi-Wan has become detached from his order of Jedi and joined up with Bail Organa's Alderaanian forces. The Jedi are losing and he has lost hope. He senses Anakin's ability and arranges to meet him. He starts to consider the possibility of training this young man, who has such a great aptitude. The two of them could take the fight to the Sith and start rallying the remaining Jedi. He finds it hard to get Anakin to control his emotions but he presses on anyway, convinced that the two of them can save the Republic. This, I suggest would be the "damned-fool idealistic crusade" that Anakin follows Obi-Wan on. If we see Anakin and Obi-Wan stay at the farm on Tatooine for a time, this would mean that Owen and Beru see the change in Anakin that his training brings and hear about what Obi-Wan is planning.
A work in progress. Any thoughts?