They may inherit the Mitochondria from the mother, but the concentration of mitochodria per cell could be another hereditary trait passed on by the father. Not that I would know a whole lot about it.

Yeah, you see Vader's return to the light coming in the same way we used to see it coming that Luke throws down his sword.

At least now, up until that very last second, we aren't so sure about Luke doing the right thing, and if he didn't, then it could all have ended up like the end of the prequels, sans any more hope.

I don't think Luke was operating on the condition that he thought Palpatine was defenseless. He throws down his saber knowing full well it could cost him his life, otherwise what's the point of having Luke do that? I can't imagine looking at that heroic act as being dependant on Luke thinking he could take the Emperor without a lightsaber, the point is that he will not fight them. So what if he -could- have blocked the lightning with a saber? He didn't have one on him because he chose to throw it down. That's the whole point here.

Also, Yoda is the only Jedi who manages to absorb force lighting. Chances are it's an advanced technique.