piestrider said:

All that being said, there are still lots of elements which are excellent additions to the Universe - Mace Windu, the Jedi Temple, Padme Amidala, and Darth Maul to name a few.

I agree with pretty much all of your points except this one.

Please enlighten us as to what personality Padme had beyond "Important Senator", what personality Maul had beyond "Silent Assassin", and what personality Windu had beyond "Stoic Jedi".

All of these examples remind of me of people who claim that the player character from Doom had a personality beyond "Gruff Space Marine". A job title or story role does not suffice as a personality, IMO.

It would have been nice to know what the above three characters were like as people. Even one quick gesture, scene, or throwaway line would have spiced these people up just a little bit.

Maul, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Padme, how is your life as a Senator different from your life as a Queen? Mace, what made you decide on a purple blade?

And before anyone tells me to read the EU, I would like to point out that the movies should stand on their own, with the books serving to expand on an already coherent story. That's why it is called the Expanded Universe.