I've heard how bad they are, but its part of the canon and I will watch it because of that. Grievous was bad ass if I remember correctly.
Don't put yourself through episode II. It's about 19 hours long, filled with a teenage Anakin Skywalker whining about not being at the head of a major galactic organisation of psychic warriors.
Episode I was a bad film, but at least it was fun to watch in places, EpII is one of the dullest films I've ever seen. A friend and I watched all six a few months ago back-to-back over a few nights, the only reason we didn't just give up on EoII and have an early night was that it would have felt like cheating.