There are hundreds of different ways that the PT could have been done, some of them not ruining most of the plot points, and most of them far superior to what we got.
Good movies could even have been made using Lucas' rotten PT storylines- if it was done right. If it was done in an entertaining way. But he not only botched it conceptually, he botched it COMPLETELY in the execution.
What would have made a much better PT, IMO, would have been to return to his original 70's Star Wars concept, which was "Errol Flynn in Outer Space". This is a huge oversight of the PT. If you watch the original "Star Wars", the influence here is so obvious it isn't funny. "I'm Luke Skywalker- I'm here to rescue you."
Develop new characters, new locales, smoky nightclubs, mad scientists... all of that "old movie" stuff that Lucas was drawing on back in the 70's and remaking for a new audience.
So I think that's a huge reason the PT was crap.