Helig's strategy worked fine for me, although getting the timing right was really tough and it took me about 10 tries. I would add that in that 3rd wave, after you use Awe (or Fear, whatever) on the adds, interrupt the Emperor BEFORE you take them out. Otherwise, he might get off that instakill before you can take the others out. And be careful about always having one interrupt (Push, Hilt Strike and Stasis will all interrupt him too!) available if at all possible.
I have Corellia-level orange gear on me, but had not kept up T7, since I use Doc almost exclusively. But once I got the timing right on interrupts, he went down. (Also, if you're having trouble, make sure you're repairing your gear at the med droid, and don't forget to use stims!)
Thing was... this was really hard and I got frustrated. But that's a GOOD thing! It's not impossible, but it is really hard. If it was simple and easy, it would be a let-down like the OP had. But because I had to struggle through several times it was much more satisfying when I finally did it.
Anyway, thanks Helig for the strategy advice. Good luck to all of you!