I thought Padme was a good character in The Phantom Menace, but they screwed her up in the later two films. I didn't have a big problem with Anakin in Phantom, though I wasn't entirely satisfied with him either. But Anakin in the later two films was a total failure. Between the writing and the acting they created a contemptible and unlikable character who was downright annoying as well. He was the worst thing in the prequels. Give me Jar Jar any day over that guy. Putting a character like that at the core of the films destroyed any hope those two films had of working.

I find it impossible to believe that when Lucas was putting the impressive Darth Vader and the benevolent sympathic Sebastian Shaw Anakin onscreen that he was envisioning the younger Anakin as being the insubstantial unsympathtic piece of crap we saw in the later two prequels. Maybe he changed his vision (I doubt he'd ever admit that) or maybe he failed to put his vision onscreen properly (I'd bet a bit of both). But one way or another ATOC/ROTS Anakin was a was a failure of filmmaking and left the later two prequels without a soul. No wonder the romance didn't work.

And yeah, Han and Leia were two great characters who it was easy to like. Splendid performances were an important part of that.

(Btw, I recognize that Anakin was intended to be a pretty faulted guy, but I doubt he was intended to be so insubstantial, shallow and contemptible, and so one-sidely negative, and so wussy.)