I actually didn't think the child killing was a step too far, as Ani goes full tilt on his killing spree up to them. Still, after enduring Ewok's and Jar Jar Binks, Lucas could've had him genocide a village and I'd of gone, yup, he knew he had to go big to distance from that.
Totally agree. He often gets forgotten when people talk about Star Wars. I suppose because there is so much to talk about in general with the Saga. Neeson brings a depth, tenderness and humanity to the character, which must have been difficult considering what he had to work with. He's just a brilliant actor full stop really, with some wonderful credits to his name.For me, the best actor and character in the prequel trilogy is Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn