Well first of all, the one thing that kinda bugged me in both Kotors is that they were short, 30-35 hours of play just didn't seem enough for such an epic story. I suggest you to pay more attention to the content, story and lenght of the game than to it's looks.
Second, the stories of KotOR 1 and 2 were both fantastic. I would like it to pick up were the last one ended, It would not be advisable to change the character because that would just be to much.
Other than that there's nothing else I have to say.