Yes, I also remember him saying that Episode 3 would be the last movie.

The Heir to the Empire Trilogy definitely has the ring of geniune SW. Few of the novels do. Most of the others I've read, like "Truce at Bakura" and "The Courtship of Princess Leia" don't really give you much insight into the SW universe. They take place on some planet you've never heard of anywhere else, and the enemies and secondary characters are never heard from again. I equate them with fanfic; nice little read, but just doesn't seem like SW.