10 Most Useless Star Wars Characters

10. The Emperor's Royal Guards

Although they certainly look intimidating, the Emperor's Royal Guards are rather pointless, at least in the Original Trilogy. First appearing in Return of the Jedi, these imperial guards did virtually nothing, other than stand in the corner of the second Death Star's throne room, and then promptly leaving on their master's request, ultimately doing nothing to stop the Emperor's demise at the hands of a redeemed Anakin Skywalker.

Saying that, these guards get a much better treatment in other pieces of Star Wars media, particularly the Star Wars Legends continuity. Obviously, these guards exist to protect Palpatine and his identity as a Sith Lord, since the Emperor can't go around personally killing his enemies, as Palpatine wanted to hide his Sith mastery from the galaxy.

During the Galactic Civil War, a group of guards killed a large number of Bothan spies on the planet Bothawui, and were also instrumental in snuffing out traitors in the Empire, led by Grand Moff Trachta, who conspired to kill the Emperor.

Even so, the Emperor's Imperial Guards remained the silent protectors of their master, who did not do much in terms of actual protection. In Star Wars: Rebels, the young Jedi, Ezra Bridger, quickly disposes of a group of Imperial Guards after he refuses to help Palpatine gain control of the World Between Worlds, proving how ineffective they can be.