I liked that the EU didn’t just rehash the original trilogy’s story like the “official” canon did with it’s sequels. The EU had a positive portrayal of Luke’s life after ROTJ, him founding a new Jedi academy on Yavin IV, and eventually facing off against a new threat not seen before. One that was immune to the Force no less.
It was a lot more fresh, novel yet traditional. The Star Wars cast had numerous children who grew up, got married themselves, and the story continued centuries later with Luke’s descendant. It was far more wholesome than the nihilistic, propaganda-filled tripe we got from Disney.
The EU had it’s problems, namely it’s incredibly bloated library of books, spin-offs of spin-offs, and excruciating detail into things that didn’t need to be explained. It could have been curated better for sure, and with a lot of pruning and better oversight it would have been a lot more approachable.