I am thinking the best order of planets to be chosen by the player is as follows:

1. Tatooine (to pick up HK-47 asap, who is by far the most fun character to have in your party, perhaps second only to Bastila)
2. Manaan (fastest opportunity to get rid of the annoying Gizka on your ship without killing them)
3. The rest, in whatever order is preferred.

Thoughts?

There were some discussion over gamefaqs, and from the look of it, one can just do them in whatever order they see fit.
For me, I was playing light side and I also wanted to do Genoharadan quests, which give unavoidable dark side points, so I just got the 2nd map from Tatooine ASAP, leaving most side quests behind and then finish Genoharadan, and back to Tatooine after that.