Speaking of your AotC edit, how's that coming? You haven't abandoned it, have you?

I feel bad replying to such a long, heartfelt post with a short one, but rest assured that I share your sympathies.
I would love to see some radically different prequels - with recast characters and redone effects, but I feel that we will never quite get what we desire. Adywan has expressed interest in doing some massive overhauls with his Prequels, but I'm not sure even he can pull some of it off.

In the end, the Prequels ARE Star Wars, and I love them. Not in the "these are so great!" sense, but in the sense that a parent still loves their children, even when they misbehave.
And that's why I work on the Prequels. Not because I hate them, but because I love them and want to see them the best they can be.