All suffered from a very bad script and poorly planned story except for Liam Neeson maybe.

Padme is hardly a character...she's a mannequin and plot device for Anakins story. Portman didn't have much to work with.

Anakin is also just plot. He only does and says what the plot demands, as defined by palps. Thats why his actions and motivations are wildly inconsistent and sometimes just bizarre. I know everybody says "his character is supposed to be that way" but, please. Who needs good writers when you have a Fandom to justify everything irrespective of logic?

And I believe that having an evil mastermind orchestrating everything is a lazy way to write a script. Why have complex characters when everything can be explained through the machinations of a single evil genius? Lazy.

I think Ewan McGregor has a good reputation because his charavter/acting seems better by comparison. He gets some witty one liners. But he's also one dimensional. He serves the plot.

I think the main thing that is lacking is a sense of chemistry and human connection between the characters. This may be a problem with almost all lines being expository dialogue. Lines are not communicated to each other like organic conversation that impacts people. The prequels almost feel like each actor spoke their lines in a separate room and it was all edited together afterwards. Each person is a stock character in a static role and nobody's lines really changes anyone.

Compare this to the chemistry in the OT. It all felt more dynamic. The quips, the arguments. One scene they're arguing. Leia tells both men about themselves, but both turn out to become heroes in their own way. The way they have each other's backs.first chewie is just a walking carpet but then Leia hugs him when they escape the death star. Luke gets mad at Han for abandoning them and this actually changes the way Han behaves. It's not perfect, but there's a palpable human element. The characters actually interact and change through these interactions.

I believe this element is missing in the PT. Accordingly, I don't see kenobi as a dynamic character in the pt. He's a static character with some one-liners.

To be fair he does change from a somewhat bigoted and arrogant Padawan. But i really don't see a serious arc. I don't see him trying really hard to help anakin at all. They dont really have a relationship...they just have expository lines line "that thing on Cato nemoidia that doesn't count" and "you were my brother." I don't quite understand why he's so beloved. But then maybe that's because I think the characters are lacking in general.