Okay, to make a couple of counterpoints
1)To paraphrase an old friend "Part of the Saga these PT movies may be, but agree with the way Lucas is working on these new movie, I do not." My arguement is primarily with people pissing all over the effects work in the PT as being sub-par. The work is as good as anything you'll find out there right now. Directorial descisions are really out of ILM's hands. The director turns over a shot list, if it's Lucas, the director is unbelievably picky about EXACTLY how the shot has to look, and ILM has to try and deliver. End of story. Their work is NOT sub-par, they simply have been given extremely difficult shots to work on. Some stuff may not work quite as well as people would hope, but that's the nature of the buisness. The OT has about a billion little failures in FX work as well that blow the illusion. But we get past it because we love those movies.
2)Why do it? Well, I think we can agree that we'd all be pretty pissed if there wasn't any visual effects work in the films (yes yes, it MUST be in the service of the story, otherwise what's the damn point...but again, that's a directorial/writing decision...Larry Kasdan COME BACK TO US!!!!!). So the shots have to be done SOMEHOW. In all honesty, I think the results have been the better for blending CG and traditional practical stuff than if it had been done practical alone. Remember the faults those older techniques have, not just their strengths. Again, as time goes by, I think it's pretty clear we learn to tolerate, and even have a warm fuzzy soft spot for the weaknessess of certain techniques which allows us to see past their failings. Given time, I'm willing to bet people born and growing up in the '90s will feel much the same way about early CG. Maybe not, but it's my bet.
3)Just a side note, I would like to make it clear that I'm not about throwing CG everywhere just for the sake of having it. Nor do I believe in altering films 30 years after release, just to make them state of the art. Would I want to see Elsa and Lazlo board a CG plane, with composited regular sized actors for the airfield crew? Good God no. Did I need to see rontos bucking all over Mos Eisley? Dear Lord never.
Anyhoo...I'm off to work....should have my LD rip of ESB by the time I get home!!!! WhooHOO!!!!!!!!