I think you could argue that Qui-Gon is the main character in Ep I. He is the one making decisions and driving the plot forward for pretty much the whole movie.

I love the Star Wars OT, and the prequels to a certain extent, because they tell the story of the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. But he was never the main character in any of the movies… you could argue they focused more on Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker, and their relationship to Anakin/Darth Vader.

I know the internet likes to poke fun at EpI for pretty much every reason and "not having a main character" is one of them, but I'd say in this case it actually works out in the movie's favor.

Qui Gon is most certainly the main character in Ep1, representing the last that remains of the wise old jedi ways, everything that the order should have stood for, but didn't. He finds the one who will bring balance to the force, and has to be a maverick to have his way, because the beaurocratic jedi order won't hear him out. The clear indication being here that if Qui-Gon had lived, Anakin wouldn't have turned to the darkside, because Qui-Gon understood the repressed feelings a jedi has and would have guided him far better in that regard than Obi-Wan/Yoda. That's why his death sequence is called "the duel of the fates" because the galaxy literally rests upon whether Qui-Gon lives or dies.

He was a maverick and no fool, unlike many of the other beaurocratic jedi, he chose to be doubtful and emphasised that the force would be utilized best by being in the moment.