First let me say I got into the whole Star Wars franchise with episode I back when I was 19, so I don't have the overwhelming hatred some SW fans have. I saw the originals and agree they were better done. Though some things I did not like, like Ewoks taking down the mighty Empire.

Anyway my questions are these. Throughout the prequel trilogy you hear how Anakin is the Chosen One who is destined to take down the Sith. Darth Sidious is the only SIth around before Anakin's fall. Now when Anakin/Vader becomes crippled shouldn't the Emperor be jubilant about this? I mean the only person capable of eventually taking him down is now a hollow shell of his former self. In the book "Rise of the Dark Lord" it states that Palpatine didn't get the apprentice he had hoped for. This tells me he preferred pre-suit Vader as opposed to crippled Vader. I know I know about the "Rule of Two" and how the apprentice is expected to challenge the master as to keep the Sith strong. This custom predates Darth Bane to the ancient Sith on Korriban.

Okay so as I was saying. Palpatine preferred a 100% Darth Vader. But in the book "Dark Empire" Palpatine has an endless supply of clones to move his essence into, before Luke destroys them all except one. So right here this suggests Sidious had hoped for some type of immortality. I've also read that he never intended to give up his position as Dark Lord of the Sith. If this is true why did he want to recruit Luke in episode VI and the Dark Empire book? In the original "Force Unleashed" game when you choose the darkside ending and become a cyborg like Vader. He tells Starkiller that he will use him to hunt down the rest of the Jedi, but once he finds a new apprentice he will cast aside Starkiller like he did Vader.

Now I know the EU was written by different authors at different years. I also know that Disney threw out the EU. My final questions are these: What was truly his endgame? Did he want to follow the "Rule of Two"? or Did he want to rule the Sith and Empire forever?

This has been bugging me since ep III.

Well let me just say that the Rule of Two and Palpatine's plan for a type of immortality do not really conflict.

The essence of the rule is that there is only a Master and his Apprentice. That apprentice is sought after to be the most powerful apprentice they can find so that for someone to be worthy of being the Master, they need to defeat them. Theoretically Palpatine could have been his own end game. Would always seek a more powerful apprentice, but Palpatine was extremely powerful with his control over the Force. He was also a talented swordsman, but not the best in that. The collective of his power in combat, knowledge, and connection to the Force was almost unmatched.

If no one was ever more powerful than him, it is his duty then to use his power of transference to keep himself alive. Hence, never a violation of the Rule of Two.

Also just note that the Rule of Two didn't mean they couldn't employ other Darkseid users...just they were only ones who trained in the arts of the Sith.

First of all I wouldn't count the force unleashed as part of the story because it's shoddily stitched into the lore and is full of plot holes, but that's a whole other argument.

As for the main question, if we go off the emperor with his clones, then he already has an immortality ability. So I would assume the only reason he keeps around an apprentice is because he needs someone to do his dirty work, yet still be strong enough to kill his enemies easily. And he doesn't want to have more apprentices because they might team up and find out his weakness.

So if he keeps one, he's easily manageable, easy to watch (won't have him snooping around your clone supply behind your back), yet strong enough to screw over regular mortal enemies, and a figure head for his forces, yet not enough of a threat to destroy the empire.

I don't know, I could be wrong. It's just my two cents, I'm sure someone else will have a better answer.

I did not know seeking immortality wasn't a violation of the Rule of Two. In fact now that I think about it. In the last Darth Bane book, while both are severely injured in their duel, Darth Bane tries and fails to transfer his essence into Darth Zannah. So yeah, I guess Palpatine wasn't the original Sith to attempt that. I know Exar Kun gained immortality, but he was in spirit form and bound to the Massassi temple.

About SIth employing other darksiders. I know that the Sith have used Dark Jedi in the past. Like Darth Zannah when she recruited that Dark Jedi she was hoping to turn into an apprentice.

Yeah you're right. Vader was all of the above. Though his force abilities were hampered due to his injuries. He still served as Sidious's enforcer and face of the Empire. He also led his own contingent of Stormtroopers called "The 501st or Vader's Fist." And yes I agree having only one apprentice made them easier to watch. That's what I assume Moff Tarkin was used for in ep IV, as the Emperors eyes and to hold Vader's leash as Leia would say.

Thanks for clearing this up for me both of you.