Honestly, when I look at the EU, particularly Thrawn Trilogy and the Dark Empire, I think three things...
For starters, lets look at the latter. The Dark Empire, in my opinion, was created to fill the void left by Grand Admiral Thrawn's death. If Thrawn had lived, if he had destroyed Admiral Ackbar's Assault Fleet and the Smuggler's Alliance at Bilbringi, then I have no doubt that he would have convinced the other Imperial Warlords and factions to finally submit themselves beneath him and pretty much annihilate the New Republic. However, while I think the Dark Empire was an interesting series in itself, I still believe it was dumb because all they did was reincarnate Sidious and have the Empire turn on itself again.
Next is the events of Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, or more importantly the Noghri. The Chiss did not believe in the concept of slavery and Thrawn was no exception. When you read the Vision of the Future Duology and books like Choices of One and Outbound Flight, you will know that from his own personal beliefs and the way he views other species with practical equality rather than servitude shows that he would not willingly make the Noghri slaves. I mean Vader did that and all I thought after reading the other books about Thrawn was 'Why were the noghri slaves under Thrawn?' I'd call it a hole, but Timonthy Zahn doesn't make holes or at least he doesn't write himself into a corner. I do not see why Thrawn wouldn't try to move them off the planet to a new one where they can grow and still have them serve beneath him as his Commandos, let alone move them into the Empire of the Hand instead.
Look at them now though. They practically worship Leia and she 'uses' them for her family's own protection. I call that slavery and the worst thing is they do it because she is Vader's daughter and because she 'helped' them.
And lastly, possibly the best thing, is Thrawn himself. He was a strategic and tactical genius and unlike Palpatine and Vader, he inspired the men under his command and gave them actual hope for victory and reformation of the Empire. He was charismatic, pragmatic, cunning and patient, who used everything to his advantage and wasn't above accepting the suggestions and ideas of his men to achieve his goals, which were to prepare the galaxy for a war unlike any other and ultimately bring about peace. While yes, there were indeed multiple events that occurred which even his genius would not be able to process all at once, such as the destruction of Mt. Tantiss and Rukh's ultimate betrayal of him, I do not doubt for a single minute that if Thrawn had lived and if the Dark Empire never happened, then the galaxy would very well have had a new Chiss Emperor as their leader. Not without resistance mind you, but still it would have occurred.
And while my name may suggest biased opinion, its still my opinion overall. You all may have something different to say, but I would welcome them because its fun to talk about what I love with other people who share my interest. I don't have that out here, even though my homies are there for me and we chill and go clubbin and shit, and I love knowing that I can talk about this stuff with you all.