Questions about TLJ and TFA Answered

In response to: https://imgur.com/gallery/xozo9

Ultimatelly, did Snoke matter at all?
Yes and no. He is there as a the original leader of the First Order, because something trying to restore the Empire needs to have it clear who is trying to take over, as well showing who trained Kylo following the razing of Luke's new Jedi Order and show the struggle still inside Kylo that would decide his fate (much like with his grandfather on the second Death Star).

What happened to the 'Knights of Ren'? Is that even a thing anymore?
Knights of Ren were already back drop even in TFA. They aren't the focus, more just there to show Kylo had support for taking down the new Jedi Order and he isn't as strong as he thinks he is. Whether or not they are still going to be a thing is irrelevant, now that Kylo is Supreme Leader of the First Order.

What happened to Kylo's obsession with Vader?
He's still obsessed, but as he so clearly explains to Rey in TLJ, he's letting the past die. After Rey physically bitch slaps him at Starkiller Base and Snoke Force Bitch Slaps him on his ship, he ditches his mask (and smashes it) as it was a tribute to Vader, trying to mimic him to be like Vader.

Why did Kylo kill Han but was then hesitant to kill Leia? And if given the chance, would he kill Chewbacca?
Kylo hated Han. This is repeatedly stated. Yet he was still clearly hesitant to kill his own father. Recall how long it took for him to actually activate his lightsaber and stab Han on the catwalk on Starkiller Base. Any hatred he has to Leia is more likely due to A: his past in general, and B: she's the leader of the Resistance. If he had any other choice, he'd likely let her live. As for Chewie, probably, given how closely associated he was to Han.

And what was his relationship with the old man he killed in the beginning of The Force Awakens? The rapport they briefly shared made it seem like they had history together.
He knew Leia, and likely met Kylo when he was still a young Ben Solo. Did you forget the whole "To me, she's Royalty." line? He probably knew Kylo before he was sent off to train with Luke while Leia was rebuilding the galaxy and building the New Republic following the Galactic Civil War.

When Vice Admiral Holdo accelerates to hyperspace through that Star Destroyer; why doesn't everyone do that? Why bother building a Death Star? If they do, then they could just fire a bunch of hyperspace ships through it, right? And couldn't they have a droid flip the switch? She didn't need to go down with the ship, did she? Why isn't this done more often? Did they all sign a truce to Not do it? Was this a war crime? Maybe the Resistance is broke? I guess hyperdrives ain't cheap, yo

Hyperdrives (and ships in general) are not cheap in the slightest. What Holdo did was a last ditch attempt to save the Resistance as they were well and truly fucked right then and there. Ships take time be able to jump to hyperspace. If both the First Order and the Resistance didn't think Holdo was just spinning up the hyperdrive for her to run for her life, they would have fired everything on the Resistance flagship. A big part as to why Holdo's suicide jump was so successful is the size of the ship. Firing X-Wing sized hyper drive missiles at anything with no real targeting would do nothing. Unless you have sufficient mass, like a capital ship, or aim for a vital system, which is hard to do while the ship is under fire, you are going to do minimal damage at best. This was an act of pure desperation. The Resistance had no home base, no other supporters coming, and their ships were either scrap or basically out of fuel. Neither side expected it.

What's up with that Maz Kanata video chat scene? Who's filming it?

Do you not see C-3P0 in the background? In a universe filled with droids capable of just about any task out there, a small probe droid with a communicator built in is not far fetched for Maz to own. That is what is likely filming it.

Did she get any money as insurance after her castle-bar blew up?
I fail to see why this is important at all. Probably not with the New Republic in shambles and the First Order spreading like a wild fire.

What's up with her shooting guns in some kind of "union dispute"? Is she a union-busting scab? Or is she shooting at her old employees because they were asking for higher pay? Or is the First Order's first order of business to crack down on organized labor?

She regularly flirts and mingles with smugglers, mercenaries, bounties and bounty hunters, and just about all other low lives, scum, and villainy. Don't take the term "union dispute" at face value.

Then in that same video call, she implies she had sex with 'The Codebreaker'. And in The Force Awakens she called Chewbacca her boyfriend too. Is she just being cheeky, or does she actually get down? How much alien species inter-breeding happens in the Star Wars universe?

She's an old bartender who, as previously stated, regularly flirts and mingles with all kinds of scum and villainy. She's calling shoot out a "union dispute". She's both being cheeky and likely did get down like that. With Chewie, it was her just being cheeky. This is a universe were all kinds of aliens are on the same standing with each other. There is bound to be some inter species breeding going on.

Between jumping, force ghosts, and lightning, just how many force powers are there?

There are countless abilities regarding the force. It's simply how the user manipulates the Force and if they can learn it or not, or if it has not been done yet, if someone can successfully do it.

That force projection thing that Luke did at the end seemed a bit strange. He seemed fine when Rey left, but because he used the force really hard he died? So, does that mean that all jedi die if they use the force to hard? Is there a cautionary tale about lifting a certain number of rocks or you'll just keel over?
If you can 'force' so hard that you can die, then were all the other jedi's just phoning it in?

For starters, Luke is old. Second, if you forgot, Luke intentionally cut himself off from the force when he went into hiding (Rey flat out states it during her training). Why do you think neither Kylo nor Leia could find him? Not only did Luke have to pull his connection to the force BACK, but he also had to project himself an unknown distance across the galaxy and do so for quite some time. It takes a certain strength, energy, and will to use the force. Remember when Luke couldn't even lift his X-Wing out of the swamp of Dagobah while Yoda could do it like it was nothing? Or how after being mauled by a Wampa, he struggled to pull his lightsaber a few feet. He's not as young as he used to be, nor was he as skilled of a master as Yoda or Obi Wan was. He did not have the strength or energy left after projecting himself in such detail over such a distance for as long as he did. And that's ignoring the previous fact of he had to reconnect himself with the Force.