So I'm rewiring a piece of cosplay history- a saber I originally built back in 2009. I originally wired the thing with a Seoul P4 LED, which is pretty lame by today's standards. I used a regular latching switch, a 6 wire buck puck, and a 4 AA battery holder.

I think I'm going to re-use that buck puck, for sure, but almost everything else will be new. I've got a Tri Cree XP2 LED (amber, amber, white), a red latching AV switch, and a resistor (the resistor which shows up on the page with the latching AV switches)
Now I've got a few questions- first of all, can I use that original battery holder and run a Tri Cree XP2 on 4 AA batteries? Or do I really need L-ion batteries, and if so, what kind?
Second, how do I wire that AV switch up for a stunt build?
And last, what's the best way to wire the LED for stunt use? I want to wire all three dies for maximum brightness.

I eventually want to do a neopixel, but figured that I should cut my teeth on something simple first, and refurbishing a stunt seems to be a good starting place.