1) I always figured Luke used the Force to understand R2. In the books, it always seemed like Luke and R2 were best friends. That's the way I prefer to think of them. Or a boy and his favorite tool that he thinks more of than "just a tool."

2) TERRIBLE idea.

4) The first SW books always did a great job of reminding you that "Basic" (English) was but one of MANY languages spoken in the SW universe. I have always attributed Yoda's speech as a "translation problem." Just like when you hear someone from Germany have trouble with certain English syllables, (th's for instance).

5) I remember back in the days before 1-3 and then sometime while they were all being released, that some book or something tried explaining that red=bad, blue=good, green=rogue. I've always remembered that and thought it wasn't a bad reference. Obi-Wan was always blue, and so was Anakin (the lightsaber given to Luke in episode 4, even before we know who Anakin is). Red is obvious. And green belonged to Luke AFTER he "completed" his training and took on the Emperor and Vader by himself, no small task for someone not "classically trained" as a Jedi. And of course, the next time we see green is Qui-Gon, who is considered an outcast by most other Jedi.

6) It's hard to say. Considering that it was really all about setting up Anakin for his final downfall. However, I think Mace would have taken Palpatine in a serious fight if Palpatine didn't have his lightsaber. We'll never know. Mace got the short end of the stick, no denying that.

10) In the multi-universe theory, it says that different universes are made of different types of matter and forces (gravity, electromagnetism, etc.) and that even if one or two of these forces are different than ours, then that universe would be vastly different than ours. So possibly (stretching here), the SW galaxy is SO FAR AWAY it's in another universe with different rules to govern its physics. Han described Jedi and the Force as a religion. Obi-Wan and Yoda described it as a binding and penetrating "force of nature." If asked, I'm sure Palpatine and Vader would say it's a tool for their bidding. So it's different things to different people.