#1 I wouldn't say that they're objectively shitty films overall. They're just full of shitty parts, but as a whole they do a good job of expanding the story. Remove the bad acting parts from some of the actors, minimize the cheesy romance, take out the bit about midichlorians (there's no need to explain the technicalities of the force, anyway), while focusing more on the politics and machinations of Palpatine and you'll have a good prequel trilogy. They probably won't have enough to fill in 3 movies, though. Maybe they can pad it with more lightsaber fights.
#2 lightsaber fights. More of them. and J.J. Abrams will have an excuse to fill the scenes with sparks and lens flares. (odd bit of info. I don't know why J.J. Abrams is addicted to lens flares, but movies and specials started going hogwild with the lens flares when HD became a thing. It's one of the scenes/effects that help showcase HD resolution.)
3. Star Wars is popular across cultural and language barriers because LASER SWORDS goddamnit.
