I watched IV last night, and the acting is equally bad or worse. Hamill is the whiniest character in movie history. Acting is not what made these movies great.
The thing I-III missed was the 'banter' between character in the first three. The dynamics between Luke, Leah, Han, Chewie and the droids are mostly absent in the newer series. It is more about the story and the effects than the characters. I liked them all, except this addition would have made them even better.
I think that's why they made Anakin a bit whiny, especially in Episode II. They wanted to explain where Luke got it from.