This is something I feel has been lost in a lot of storytelling: the stage presence of the antagonist. You don't want them to sit in a corner and come out only when and where they're told, the bad guy should be the most influential and one of, if not the most developed and memorable characters. Let's contrast the OT and ST
Vader is a brilliant example of this: he's in the film from the beginning, he's towering, menacing, speaks with a deep, booming voice, and even his breathing is fucking iconic. Whenever he walks into a goddamn room his theme song blares, and he kills people casually with his bare hands, with a lightsaber, or with his mind when he chooses to. Until it's revealed that he's been just a sad, broken man maintained by machines in RoTJ, nobody knew what he was like beneath the mask, and this was his "face". What was beneath it? Nobody knew until he was redeemed. His design was based on a wide blend of historical armors, pitch black for form and intimidation. When the camera is on Vader and someone else, the camera is mostly on Vader.
When Vader is on set, shit is real. He's fucking bad news, and he doesn't hide it. He's twice the size of everyone else and fills the fucking room.
Kylo, by comparison, shows up at the beginning of TFA and apes Vader's appearances throughout, but he has none of the intimidation. He's shorter, scrawnier, meeker. He doesn't have a recognizable theme, nor the calm intimidating aura Vader had. He's emotional and hysterical. He slams things with his saber and doesn't get any really impressive feats. He gets his ass kicked in the first movie and his face is revealed quickly, killing the suspense. He just seems to have been based on Vader himself, with no real other sources to draw from. He's shallow in design and shallow in motivation. He loses any stage presence when standing near anyone else. Every time he's on set with someone else, the audience is drawn to look at someone else, since his design is bland, his character is bland, and his power is unimpressive compared to the others.
He has no presence. He has no intimidation. He's meek and bent, he's weak and frail. He is relegated to the corner and has very slouched, unsure body language. Compare his stance to Vader's. Vader stands up straight, Vader has an open, powerful stance.
Everything about Kylo, from his imitative design to his shrunken body to his meek, defensive stance screams weakness, where the original, towering, proud Vader was a palpable, instinctual threat.
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