Devil's advocate = me.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
We also have Kenobi's (and Yoda's) unusual method of training and preparation. Not bothering to train one half of Anakin's children,
I assume they didn't want to give away Leia's secret identity and by training her in the ways of the Force, Palpatine and Vader would quickly piece the puzzles together and know about Leia being Vader's daughter.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
waiting 19 years before external circumstances forced them to begin on Luke,
I guess they like... waited for the Force... to show them the opportune moment... like, probably.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
lieing to him about his paternity,
This is probably the most logical part. They knew that Luke was going to be the gambler and try to get his father back to the light side instead of killing him like he's supposed to. Thus lowering the chance of victory.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Kenobi's frankly pointless sacrifice,
He became more powerful than Vader could possibly imagine. He gained the Ghost DBZ Instant Transmission technique.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
his waiting 3 years to tell him of Yoda
If he had told him about Yoda earlier than maybe Vader would have searched Luke's feelings and found out about Yoda and maybe Obi-Wan couldn't Force Ghost appear before that time. Also, the Force probably told Obi-Wan to wait for the opportune moment.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Yoda's initial refusal to train him,
He was testing Luke. Period.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
not preventing him from going to face Vader,
He did warn Luke, but wanted Luke to make the right choice on his own, he didn't really do that but everything turned out okay right? Yoda also knew they still had a Leia trump card left.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
waiting until Yoda's a year from death to begin his training...
You can't really predict when you're a year away from death. Plus, the Force told them to do so. Probably.
All in all, we can conclude that Obi-Wan and Yoda were smart but misleaded tools of a stupid Force guide. It's the shooter that's to blame for the bullets kill. Probably.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
I'm just gonna sum up everything you said there in to "They were nitwits." Which is true.
It's a Jersey Star Wars thing. I remember discussing the intelligence of certain Star Wars characters with Gideon. I didn't like the "Dark Side clouding their minds" excuse for some of the stupid decisions they made.