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Their purpose is to make sure the prosecution holds to the letter of the law and does not abuse their power.
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Absolutely wrong. The prosecution could hold to the letter of the law, avoid abusing their power, yet still be prosecuting the wrong guy. Some cop could have lied, or they just made the wrong conclusions about the evidence. Merely keeping the prosecution in line is not enough. It's the defense attorney's job to poke holes in the prosecution's case, or in other words show the jury that there is reason to believe the client may be innocent.
If the defense is successful, then the prosecution was either wrong (the guy really is innocent) or the prosecution failed to prepare a good enough case (not the defense's fault)