Really seems like they want to use the Star Wars framework and all the cache and advantages that come with it, but then they act like they would be mortified if Luke's presense would have taken away from the new characters.

Fuck off with that ego shit about "your" characters. They gave hammill one no-lines scene, and he basically made the whole movie an inconsequential preamble to it just by giving a look. Stick to the basics guys.