Ooooh, Star Wars, my favorite movies ever!
Well, let me start by saying that I loved the Prequels more than the Originals. Flame all you want, but this won't change what I think. My order is:
Revenge
Empire
Attack
Phantom
Hope
Jedi (though I can't decide between the last two).
Empire set the standards very high, and Jedi did not rise up to the occasion. The final battle in the forest was a joke IMO (yeah, the Empire's best legion lost to a bunch of shampoo bears), the space battle was pure ownage and the Luke/Vader was... what? Nothing. No tension not anything. Only the last few seconds where Luke gets angry and even those are as bad choreographed as any Xena/ Hercules episode. Sorry. Although any scene containing the Emperor was majestic.
As far as the Prophecy is concerned: During Eps1-3 there are 2 Sith and thousands of Jedi. By the end of Ep3, there are 2 Jedi (Obi and Yoda) and 2 Sith (Sid and Vader).
In Ep4, a Jedi dies (Obi) and a Jedi is born (Luke), same goes for Ep5.
In Ep6, Yoda dies and we have no Jedi (I'll elaborate) and 2 Sith.
By the end of the Saga, Anakin returns (so there is one Jedi and one Sith) and kills Sid and then dies. So, no Jedi, no Sith.
When I said there were no Jedi and 2 Sith in Ep6, it was because I don't consider Luke of Ep6 to be a conventional Jedi of old (a Prequel Jedi, if you will). Kal-El8, since you've read the EU, I trust you agree with me on this characterization of Luke.
And that was the point. The Jedi of old were rotten and lost their path, they needed cleansing (all of that shown in tha face of Mace Windu, that's why I loved his part). Anakin did that, completing one part of the Prophecy.
Anakin for me is the Chosen One. He lost his way and Luke brought him back to complete his role. So, IMO Luke was the catalyst (a big one) but Anakin was always the Chosen One.
Now, as to why I like the Prequels more, it's off topic (to this "off topic-ed" thread), but let me say this:
Loved the action more.
Loved the secondary characters more (Grievous, Mace Windu, Dooku, Jango Fett were better than Lando "Apollo Creed" Calrissian or Boba "handled like a punk" Fett).
Effects are equal, since we are talking about different times.
Story... well, the Prequels are darker for me (a plus in my book) and have an actual spanning story throughout the movies that is more than "Luke and his happy company in new merry adventures".
Plus, some touches that bothered me in the Originals (like cowboy Solo, ruins A New Hope for me. The Ewoks, yes, I don't like Jar Jar either, but at least the Gungans in general persuade me they are a species that can fight- and fight well, their weapons I found very cool. The Ewoks are nothing but just cute. Also, bad idea to make Leia a Skywalker. She wasn't used at all in Ep6, considering she was now Vader's daughter. Uncle George should have stuck with the original idea, to bring in a new character to be Luke's sister).
That being said, I love all of them and watch them as one movie (Just like I watch Smallville as one big, VERY big Saga). I do discretions only among the movies themselves.
Just my 0.02 Euros, anyway!