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You're trying to pick a fight where there isn't one, and putting words in my mouth.

Pope Innocent III was not a dictator who could force everyone to do as he pleased, but it was during his reign that virtually every Christian leader recognized their authority as coming from the Church and Vicar of Christ.

"Wasn't the period AD 400-650 a lot better
for Christians in Africa, Egypt, Syria,
Persia, Spain, etc. than post Islam in the Middle Ages?
Or does the only part of Christendom that counts
consist fo France, Italy, and Germany?"

When did I ever say anything relating to that? Of course it is better to be under Christian than Muslim rule, but that has nothing to do with Christendom, they were a conquered people. -I don't see the connection.

"Why do you insist on seeing the Most Christian
Emperors as all-powerful tyrants and dictators?"

Show me where I ever said anything of the kind! I insist on nothing of the sort! I am an old-fashioned Catholic monarchist and would support a Christian emperor any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I simply do not hold *any* temporal ruler to be above the authority of the Pope.

"Rome was the source of law, order, and freedom,
not the German barbarians."

True enough, but that sounds a little elitist. The Germans adopted Roman culture and were capable of becoming just as refined and civilized over time as anyone.

"Rome had a system of free cities and provincial rule in a united land at peace long before the medieval royals figured out how to mimic this system and curb the depredations of their nobles."

By the time Rome became Christian it was not very well united at all. The Church tried to restore this system as soon as it was able, but the very fact that Rome collapsed meant that it had to take some time before any relative peace could be reestablished.

I simply prefer the de-centralized system of the Holy Roman Empire, wherein the Emperor had authority over defense and foreign relations, leaving other matters up to the local authorities and where the Church was recognized as being paramount in all matters, temporal and spiritual. The Roman and Byzantine rulers, as much as I admire many of them, simply had a little too much arbitrary power for me to be 100% comfortable with.