I see what you're getting at but this is what I'm saying the two films are saying:
Yes, Anakin did make the choice to be a Jedi. He has this romanticized view of being a Jedi, but Qui-Gon warned him of the hardships. He still chose. But, that doesn't change the fact that his Mother taught him a certain set of values, values that indirectly clash with the Jedi Way. Most of the those values deal with the caring of people. This is why I say previously that Anakin is loyal to people, not ideals. Anakin cares for people, but not people as a whole in the way the Jedi do.
The prime example is in Episode III at the beginning when one of the Clone fighters is asking for help and Anakin wants to go help him out. Obi-Wan states, "No, they're doing their job so we can do ours." The next shot shows Anakin pissed off about it. And when it comes time for Obi-Wan to about bite the dust, Anakin goes to his friend. Obi-Wan orders him to finish the missing and leave him but Anakin isn't having any of that.
Do you see where I'm getting at?
Now, we also have the Chosen One factor, that I believe was a mistake by the Jedi. They know he's the Chosen One. They TELL him he's the Chosen One. But, then tell him he can't be trained. I think a nine year old can comprehend that. But, they change their mind out of their own circumstances(make sure the Chosen One doesn't fall into the hands of the Sith) but that already breeds resentment in Anakin. Not only that, but they give him over to a Master who isn't ready to be one and doesn't even care for the boy in the first place. The relationship is barely held together in the beginning only because of Qui-Gon's wishes.
And with Anakin being the Chosen One and feeling that he is, when it comes to his abilities and his training, he feels that is more capable of what Obi-Wan is allowing him to become. When you get that constantly back and forth along with other Padawan's rising in the ranks, that has to breed some frustration. On top of all that, he can't see his Mother. She raised him but the Jedi Way obviously dictates that you must break the attachment to your previous life. And this is the aspect where the Jedi should've given him special circumstances...if they were going to train him. There is absolutely no way a kid can just forget the one person who raised him all those years....who was his only life at one point....his family. You can't break that bond. It's forever. Clearly, Anakin struggles with this. This is why his dreams in Episode II scare him. And when he tells Obi-Wan of his dream, what does his Master tell him? "Dreams pass in time." Or, in other words, forget about your Mother. You're a Jedi now.
This is why I say it's a constant back and forth between what he knows he must be and do as a Jedi and what he feels as just a human being. It's just a clash between what he is taught and what he's being taught, on top of the fact that he knows he's the Chosen One. He is disciplined, moreso in Episode III, but he has his moments outside of that...and that's mainly a cause of his beliefs in his abilities.
The key to any film of this type is the likeablity factor with a character. Anakin has his good moments. Most of them, in Episode II, are with Padme. We all can tell he's desperately in love with her, eventhough we also know this is wrong. It's clear to me that Lucas went more towards "understand the character and his problems" than "like the character." It's definitely a combination of the two in Episode II with it obviously leaning toward "understanding." Still, when the chips fall in the latter half of Episode II, he comes to the rescue of his Master. He's galant in the battle. He saves Obi-Wan just as he's about to get it from Dooku. And then we see his marriage and understand the reasons behind the marriage. With all of that, I personally like him. And Lucas makes a very great effort in the opening moments in Episode III to make the audience really like Anakin now that we see him as a full Jedi and we see how much better the relationship between he and his Master really is....because there were some moments in Episode II. But, Episode III really puts it in the forefront. And between the two films, Lucas makes it work, the Anakin character.
And given all the crap I just said, CO's right. There's another version of Episode I and it's Anakin as the same age as Padme...but I wouldn't do it with the flashbacks(mainly because Star Wars doesn't do flashbacks). And making him that age would or would not ruin some of the thematic devices that are integral apart of his story through the three films as it stands now.