Then you'll hate the potential of one's ability to use the Force, Don. In EU stories known as "Tales of the Jedi", Exar Kun, a powerful Sith Lord (Former Jedi, like Darth Vader was, four thousand years after Exar Kun's time.), could manage to make a star go supernova. Or how about Dark Forces?
Anyone Force-sensitive that's willing to use the Valley of the Jedi upon its discovery (A "grave site" for trapped Jedi who couldn't blend in and become one with the force after succumbing to Lord Kaan's thought bomb at the Battle of Ruusan a thousand years before Episode 1) could potentially be powerful enough to do just that, maybe even control people on a wider scale.
Darth Vader could potentially use the Force, reach out to someone, and control them. Perhaps persuade them using mind tricks, perhaps gripping their throats, etc. His power almost rivaled Exar Kun's, if not surpassed. That is, if he learned to control it in time, which wasn't the case unfortunately, despite the many many years between Episode III and Episode VI.
I think you're severely underestimating the power of the Force, Don. Severely. If Mace Windu can fight without a Lightsaber like that, think of Yoda, Dooku, Palpatine, and even Anakin/Darth Vader's potential of using the Force.