Thought about it some more and the reason why Smoke needs a backstory and the Emperor does not is pretty simple. The Emperor was described as part of a preexisting dichotomy between good and evil that had been going on for generations. He was merely part of a bigger chain. His backstory is interesting but not necessary. Snoke has been described as something outside of that chain. He apparently existed before the Emperor and is far more powerful, in terms of the force. He basically breaks all the preexisting rules we've already been given about the Jedi/dark side, including those from the original series and the prequel. Most notably he breaks the role of two. The Emperor didn't break any rules and just fit into the narrative we were given.
Honestly they could have given us a one minute flash back, and I'd have been satisfied. Snoke's death was clearly one of many attempts by the creators to be edgy and cheeky and break the typical Star Wars routine. It fell flat.
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