So on the one hand as a character he's a brilliant defense of the Jedi way--- on the other, he's a wonderful critique of it, and specifically of their training program and the reasons for it.

Okay, now that sounds interesting.

all well and good if you're running a contemplative order of warrior-monks who maybe go out in the galaxy and do good according to their personal callings within the Force. It is utter crap if you are trying to field a peacekeeping-and-special-operations force in service to a galaxy-spanning government

Exactly! That's, um, kind of my entire issue with them.

YES. THIS. To all of this. (And Stihl? Is awesome. That said, I don't know if the rest of the book will be nonsquicky for you.)

And I love the idea of a Jedi order that relies on the Force, rather than a temporal authority, for its direction, oh yes.