Let the thread hijacking commence
So...your metric as to "best Star Wars villain" is he killed a Jedi? Uhh...Vader did too. He killed loads of Jedi, when he stormed the temple. Okay, it's off-screen, but it's certainly more than Maul. So did Palpatine. You say Maul took on two. Well, Palpatine took on FOUR and killed them all, and all four were considered the best blade-masters of their time, unlike when Maul took on an old man and his untested student. Heck, he even took on YODA of all people (granted in my opinion, the two of them shouldn't have had a lightsaber fight, it should have strictly been one of Force powers and knowledge).
I wouldn't call Maul an intriguing character. I know literally nothing about him from Phantom Menace. He says something about "having revenge" and that's it. Revenge for what? Did he suffer a legitimate harm, or is it just BS Palpatine fills his head with so he'll do his dastardly schemes?
I for one actually liked seeing Palpatine. Especially since in Return of the Jedi, he doesn't have a lightsaber. To me, that signalled that here's a guy with Force knowledge and power so great, that he's transcended physical lightsaber combat. He's so powerful in the Force that he doesn't need a crude weapon like a lightsaber. This was the same sort of vibe I got off of Yoda in Empire Strikes back, what with that "war not make one great" line. Yoda was above lightsaber combat too but for different reasons.