he goes straight from being a padawan himself to taking on anakin as his own padawan

My first reaction to this was pretty much to scream, “WELL, GOODBYE” because, holy shit, canon confirmation that Obi-Wan would leave the Jedi Order for Anakin, I’m going to revel in these feelings about my ship, go on without me.

But even beyond that I think it’s really spot-on characterization because Obi-Wan really and truly fully dedicated himself to Anakin, by this point he is 100% going to devote his life to guiding Anakin, wherever that takes him. He would never force Anakin into a choice that wasn’t truly his own, he thinks Anakin belongs with the Jedi (he’s too young, he’s not ready, being part of the Jedi means being part of something bigger/stronger–in other words, Anakin needs that structure in his life), but if Anakin truly wants to go, then Obi-Wan will go with him.

At the same time, one of the central points about Obi-Wan’s character is that one of his greatest flaws (if you want to call it that) is the same as Anakin’s: attachment.

Yoda began to pace the small chamber, the tapping of his gimer stick loud in its silence. "Know do you, Obi-Wan, why reluctant I was for Skywalker to become your apprentice?“

Did
he know? Not for certain. And once he and Qui-Gon had prevailed over
the Council, and Anakin had been made his Padawan, Yoda’s objections had
no longer mattered.

“Ah … no, Master,” he said cautiously.Yoda
flicked him a skeptical glance.

“Hmmm. Then tell you I will. Reluctant I
was because the same flaw you share, Obi-Wan. The flaw of attachment.”
–Wild Space, by Karen Miller

The above moment is about Obi-Wan’s dedication to his vow to see Anakin trained, but that moment doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it exists alongside Obi-Wan’s tendency to become attached to that which he loves–and loves Anakin he does. (Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan directly tells Anakin that he loved him.)

This is why I say that Anakin Skywalker is the great love of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life. It doesn’t matter if I mean it romantically or platonically or in a more familial sense, because he’s attached to Anakin, he loves Anakin, he’s chosen to dedicate his life to Anakin, he would leave the Jedi Order for Anakin, he spends the last 20 years of his life watching over Anakin’s child.

He’s not the only person Obi-Wan has loved, there have been many, in various forms. Qui-Gon Jinn, Siri Tachi, Satine Kryze, the Jedi Order as a whole. But his dedication to and love for Anakin are greater than all of them.