Akwat Kbrana said:

Because while there's nothing wrong with a protocol droid doing something non-protocol related, that's quite a different issue than specifically building a protocol droid to help a homeless mom do chores around the house. That's like me writing a Greek lexicon for my wife, who has absolutely no use for the ability to look up the English definition to Greek words. Sure, she could use it as a paperweight...but if that's what she needs, then why not just give her a paperweight to begin with?

Maybe because he had not found any paperweight. He found a lexicon.

Ok, but RLM isn't debating whether or not Anakin, on finding some pieces to a protocol droid, should or shouldn't have gone ahead and put them together. He's debating the storytelling merit (or lack thereof) of using this as a subplot. The issue isn't so much whether or not Anakin, if given the opportunity, should've build a protocol droid; it's whether or not George Lucas should have written that into the movie.

Subplot?! And why shouldn't he have written that? It doesn't hurt anything. The problem is that you (and/or RLM) seem to find a problem that a protocol droid can do chores. It's like hitting a strawman.

And however you rationalize it, Anakin building C3p0 is just mind-numbingly stupid. For one thing it's fanwankery, pure and simple. For another, it shrinks the universe and introduces a level of "convenience" that stretches credulity beyond the breaking point.

Like Leia and Luke being brothers. Oh, almost forgot. That's OT so it's okay.

Then of course, to top it off, there's the fact that a junk dealer's slave would have no need for a droid specifically designed for etiquette/protocol and translating over six million languages.

That's why he used it for chores.