Who the Emperor wasn't didn't need to be explained. He was the physical embodiment of the powerful and evil Empire. He was the leader of the group that built a weapon to destroy planets. Vader bends his knee to him. In a galaxy where 'The Empire' rules all, the leader is obviously the most powerful person. You don't need anymore than that. As I mentioned earlier, it is a trope. But it's really only one you get to use once in a timeline.
Snoke matters simply because in order for him to exist in the universe we've been presented on the timeline it is on, is that he was an exceptionally powerful dark force user who operated hidden away from the Emperor and Vader, who was able to rebuild an Empire-like group in a relatively short amount of time. That's a character that deserves at least some explanation.
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