well if were going lore we should be able to do both, since according to the kyle katarn in jedi academy (which needs more games btw) he says that the powers aren't necessarily 'light' or 'dark' but the people who use them are.
all you have to do is carefully watch khem's hp and use a combo of lightning abilities
the cast shock
continuous spray of lightning
and the instant bolt
(sorry don't remember the names )
im level 31 and have had no problem holding aggro
as for your argument about them being range... they do have pistols... whcih are close range weapons...