For the whole Anakin power thing.
My theory is that, if his body was not horribly mutilated (which caused him to get all the mechanical replacements), he most likely could have surpassed Palpateen in power.
Part of the reason that both Palpateen and Vader were interested in Luke...he was for the most part undamaged, and had great potential, like Anakin did, to master The Force more than any other Jedi or Sith could in history.
At least that's what I extrapolated from the DVD commetarry tracks.