you are wrong. yes it is your opinion, but it is still very wrong. I think it is so gay that ever since the new triliogy, sidious is considered invincible. if he was so powerful he would have turned Luke by pure force capabilities. just because he defeats Yoda dosn't mena a whole lot. it was never said that Yoda was the best of the Jedi, ihe was simply the head alongside Mace Windu. Besides, I would hope he would have worked his way up the ranks over 900 years. Yoda may have been the greatest alive at that time when he was between 150-400. that is just a guess on the best at an age thing though. there may have been some super-uber jedi at that time that we dont know about.
Alright, let's do this.
Exar Kun. Destroys suns. Threatens the Republic and the Jedi Order. Is powerful enough to force freeze an entire Jedi Council. One of the most feared and famed Sith lords of all time. No chosen one.
Naga Sadow. Heir to Marka Ragnos. Starts a war with the Republic that was simply devastating on both sides. No chosen one.
Revan and Malak. Open enemies of the Republic, murderers of millions, both Jedi and not. Known for converting more Jedi to the darkside than any before or since. Destroyers of planets. (Telos, Malachor V, Taris) Revan, in particular, was amazingly powerful. NO CHOSEN ONE.
Nihilus. The guy has enough power to keep the Ravager working with his sheer will. Destroys all life on Katarr with the Force alone. No chosen one.
Sidious. Artificially enhanced politician turned new-age Sith. Manipulates from the shadows. Takes over the Republic through Hitler-esque ways. Has the small number of Jedi eliminated. But somehow, before all this, a chosen one was made. You know, just to chuck him over a railing into a shaft.
I guess the chosen one criteria is pretty weird. Silly Force.
Look, Sidious doesn't go around blowing a bunch of crap up and murdering everyone, because he knows that that's how the Sith were defeated. If there Sith aren't well known throughout the galaxy, it's much easier for them to take over, stay in power, and rule with an iron fist. FEAR THE FIST!
I admit, it is somewhat lame how Sidious dies, but at the same time I accept it because of how physically weak his body must be from the incredible darkside powers flowing through him. I know a bunch of you will resond with, "Well why didn't he just use the force to kick Vader's ass etc."
He couldn't. He was too weak physically, and Vader's power, combined with the lightside attempting to re-balance itself out was too much for him. He was the fool that didn't understand until the end, not Luke.
Well, I find there's more strength in Revan's methods, personally. He had no need to hide. The Republic could not hope to defeat him, at all. If it were Revan on the Death Star in ROTJ, the rebels would be up shit's creek without a paddle. And true, Sidious' body is weakened from the dark side energy from within, but that is also a downfall. Revan's will keeps him in prime condition, mentally and physically. He uses a planet, Malachor V, to draw on the dark side of the Force and to influence the endgame of one of the greatest battles the galaxy had ever seen.
Now, seeing as the only reasonable way to properly evaluate each of these guys is to ignore the aspect of balance in the Force and the Prophecy, we can conclude that:
Sidious could not show himself until he was in a secure position. He had a reason to be afraid, whether it was prudence or Sith teachings, or perhaps he had a deep-seated admiration for manipulation, but Sidious was not openly true to the ways of the dark side.
Sidious was afraid of the threat any Jedi would pose to his rule. He was not able to convert many, so he instead turned to having Anakin, someone we can agree, prophecy aside, was incredibly powerful in this time. He used Anakin instrumentally to do most of the work for him. He lacked either the strength or the ability to do this himself. Note also that Sidious is afraid of the Son of Skywalker as a threat to his rule, though whether this is from prophecy (which was not even in the plot in ESB where this line was first spoken) or from way too much caution is anybody's guess. Let's just say that he's insecure in his power, for all the power he supposively has.
Sidious is physically weak. The Force raging through his body has destroyed him in his old age. This might be an indicator that his body cannot properly wield the Force in all its effectiveness. If we decide to add the EU fact that he used science or whatnot to increase his Force potency, then you also admit that he is naturally not Force sensitive like most Jedi. Another weakness.
And the last point I will make for now... Sidious took over the Republic in a time where it had next to no standing army, not like the Old Republic. He did it with clones that were made for this specific purpose. Unlike Revan, a tactician and a conquerer who was wise enough to leave the infrastructure of the galaxy intact as he moved on and won battle after battle, Sidious had to stage a subtle coup and then rely on the clones and his powers in office to take over. And even then he was meeting with resistance all the way until his demise.
the whole Sidious is weak cause of the dark side is disproven in episode III, he's not weak by any stretch of the imagination. He's deformed and scarred from Mace Windu deflecting lightning and melting his face, but he is not weak. He uses a Cane by ROTJ because he's old, but so does Yoda. Eventually, he would have probably used the force abilities of Darth Plaguies to heal his legs and his face, and extend his life indefinitely.
Did any of you ever consider that Qui-gon mught have been wrong about Anakin being the choosen one? It sure seems that having partically all of the Jedi of the Old Republic die to stop Sidious is a slight strech. None of you can say that Sidious would beat all of the Old Republic Jedi. It as far as I know never says that the chosen one has to be a Jedi. It could be Han Solo because he shot Sidious in the back and killed him for the last time I'm pretty sure.
By the way, the Jedi who recorded the prophecy was Kaja Sinis, the first Jedi, according to the sometimes said unreliable supershadow.com.
The Sith'ari was supposed to be a perfect being (Which Anakin wasn't) who would destroy most of the Sith and bring them about anew as the new leader. He was also supposed to bring balance, though how a Sith would willingly do so is questionable, unless it was Traya.
A curious thought... Perhaps Bane was as close as one could come. He did more or less touch off the mass destruction of the Sith in a way, and recreated the order, reshaping it entirely. I dunno. Just thought.