I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to disagree with you guys on the issue with Palpatine’s lightsaber. Although it does seem weird that he would need one, I think it really adds to his character and makes him more menacing. When you look at him, you would think that he is a feeble old man that does not have much skill in combat, but then he takes out his lightsaber and it suddenly makes him seem like a much bigger threat. Yoda follows the mindset of not using his powers for attack, but Palpatine seems like the kind of person who would do the opposite. There are many situations I could imagine him using his saber, especially when he gets confronted by Mace Windu and the other Jedi.

With Yoda on the other hand, I totally agree with you.