The idea that Jedi's highest most respected period and their fall and galaxy that thinks they are a forgot relic of a religion is too short. It really hurt the story.
To me, the issue was making the Jedi Order so large and pervasive. If the Jedi Order was far smaller, more inclusive, more hermitic, it would be easier to explain why so many people haven’t seen or heard of Jedi and why those who have consider them a relic of the past.
The Prequel Series should have been about the clone war and the rise of the Empire, but it should not have been about the origin of Darth Vader. Or at least if it was, they could have just let people live much longer lives in this universe and had it take place 100 to 150 years in the past.
If people lived longer, would it really change how people remember things?
The Prequel Trilogy absolutely needed to be about the origin of Darth Vader because the fall of Anakin Skywalker directly correlated to the rise of the Empire and tracks well with why Darth Vader’s redemption is so important to the original trilogy.
The first thing I would change about the Prequel Trilogy is Anakin Skywalker should NOT have been the protagonist. It should have been told from Obi-Wan Kenobi’s perspective. The point of view of the protagonist changes the way a story is told. From Kenobi’s point of view, the Jedi are the ultimate good in the galaxy, can do no wrong, and the Sith are the ultimate evil. That would contrast the perspective of Luke, the protagonist of the next chronological trilogy: the Jedi
are good yet fallible. Luke’s opinion of his masters is they’re wrong about his father (and he was proven right).
The two old Jedi Masters in the Original Trilogy (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda) are dicks when you really think about it
“Hey, murder your deadbeat dad who we lied to you about. We’re the good guys. LOL.†And
that could have contrasted with where the Sequel Trilogy seemed to be headed before Rise of Skywalker: the Sith AND the Jedi were misguided and overall terrible for the galaxy, but the Jedi ultimately survive because of their willingness to adapt and change. The path forward was finding true balance in the Force.