I broke the post into two to make it more bearable. So if anyone is still interested in my POV, here is my idea for Ep1. I'm sure you will notice many of the ideas that have been discussed throughout the thread. (ask WHY? as freely as you want if you feel I missed something):
EPISODE 1: Attack of the Clones (seriously the titles work)
The crawl should contain information about a thousand generations of peace and justice and an expanding Republic of hundreds (thousands?) of worlds. A group of Senators, led by Oragana of Alderaan, block the admitance of the Mandalorians, because they have a slave labor force of clones. The Mandalorians have sworn that if they are denied, they will see the republic burn...
The camera settles on a beautiful planet. A large ship suddenly fills the air hitting the atmosphere. We change perspective to below looking up and see that there are many others hitting the atmosphere as well. Once they start to settle in the sky, we see hundreds of troops floating down from the sky (ala Boba Fett's rocket pack). We see them rounding up people and firing on others. We cut to the throne room. Someone rushing in to tell Organa, "There was no warning. How can this be happening?" Organa turns to his right-hand-man questioningly. The man suddenly pulls out a weapon and aims in at Organa. "Naveer?" The armed man responds, "Fool, I killed him weeks ago," and fires his gun.
We cut to Obiwan's eyes suddenly opening. This section is a bit of a slow burn. Obiwan packs a small bag, goes to a spaceport to find transport. He meets a captain of a spice freighter going the same way. The captain recognizes him as a jedi (so yes i think the should have a simple but recognizable look) and offers to give him a lift. Obiwan tells the captain that they should be cautious, something terrible has happened and how he must retrieve the heir to the throne of Alderaan. Many worlds along the edge of the republic fell to an "unknown" enemy and they will be flying close to the area.
During the trip they are stopped by a Clone ship (like WWII subs used to do on the high seas). The crew is collected in the hold. When the captain resists, he is killed. This sets off one crew member (Anakin, but you knew that) and he starts to kick ass. The Clones have a hard time laying a hand on him, because he seems to know what they are going to do. They almost get in a lucky shot, when Anakin is distracted, but Obiwan saves him just in time. Before the clone ship can react, Anakin has taken control of the ship, broken lose of the Clone craft, and made a daring getaway. When the excitement finally calms down, Anakin relinquishes control to the pilot. Obiwan is amazed that Anakin is NOT the ship's pilot. Anakin's response, "Flying always came naturally to me. I decided that I should work on navigational skills. All the fancy flying in the galaxy doesn't matter much if you can't find where you are going. Between any two points there might be a better course."
They arrive at their destination. Anakin takes Obiwan to visit his sister, Beru and brother-in-law, Owen. They are all moving out to one of the rim planets far away from the tensions with the Mandalorians. Beru and Owen will work the farm and Anakin is responsible for distribution. Obiwan tells his tale and Anakin decides he wants to help find this heir. Of course, the Clones attack (that ship they met must have been an advanced scout) and take the planet. Owen betrays the whereabouts of the heir for safe passage off world for he and his family. They are all captured (bad guys NEVER keep a promise). They evenually make good their escape. Anakin kills some of his captors during the escape. Obiwan has a difficult time reading the clones. Off world, Anakin is angry and refuses to talk with his family. Beru apologizes to Obiwan for Owen's actions and tells him where they are headed if Anakin ever forgives them. They go their separate ways.
Obiwan, Anakin, and Bail Oragana head for Coruscant, the Capital of the republic. En route, Obiwan talks to Anakin about NO KILLING (it wounds the force and yes that probably means no leather in the outfit and probably vegetarians as well) and to let go of his anger. "In life," he brings back Anakin's statement, "There is a better course." He tells Anakin that he can sense how strongly the force flows through him. Anakin could sense the intentions of the clones even when Obiwan had difficulty. Obiwan wants to take Anakin to be trained by Yoda after this is over. Anakin, being impatient, talks Obiwan into starting his training now.
When they arrive at Coruscant (how can we NOT show a senate of hundreds (thousands?) of worlds working together when our senate of 50 states has such a difficult time doing it), the senate is in an uproar, because of the blatant attacks into Republic space. A War Council has convened and an army is being raised. (Why would a republic of this size NOT be able to raise an army and NEED clones, PT?) We meet other jedis, who are protecting other world leaders. Maybe Anakin can meet a nice girl here that will be a little important if we get to make an Episode 2. The Jedi help in the planning, but will not go into battle. They are not soldiers, it is not their way. In the Council we learn that the Supreme Commander of the Mandalorian forces has taken up residence on Alderaan as a final insult to the man who refused their admitance into the republic. Bail insists on leading the attack to take back his world. Anakin convinces Obiwan that they MUST go back with Bail. How can the Jedi say that they stand for justice if they abandon Bail now? Obiwan goes against the other Jedi and goes with Anakin and Bail. Anakin's training continues while en route.
The final act is the battle for Alderaan. It should be understood that the republic is taking back all the planets that were taken at the same time. Anakin leads the attack against the ships in orbit around Alderaan, where he will show that he can learn control. Obiwan and Bail lead the forces that retake the palace. Obiwan will show that since he has a hard time reading the clones, he can be a bit reckless and unpredictable. Of course our heroes win the day. Big cheer...roll the credits.
Prepare yourselves for Episode 2 (and yeah this one could be called the phantom menace - it's where mysterious jedi who kill enter the story) ;-)