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Originally Posted by devilsgrin  Though i am not in anyway saying that Gandalf is weaker than the witch-king, but the witch-king did break gandalf's staff during their minor confrontation in Minas Tirith... and as their staves are the symbols of the power of the itarii one could conclude, that originally a man or not, the Witch King is undoubtedly one of the most powerful beings in Middle Earth. |
Uhg, that is in the movie. Please. It never happened in the book, and I highly doubt it ever would.
And Gandalf -was- more powerful then the Balrog; first of all, he is masking his true power during the fight, or at least is supposed to be. Second of all, he is 'already wearied' due to the spell he cast prior to the fight and the flight from the orcs. I think that Gandalf at his true and best would be able to slay the Balrog, and maybe escape with his life.
And, it is true enough that the Balrog might not have served Sauron's purpose wholly because of his insane power. However, that was a direct quote from the book and I was putting it there to show just how powerful he was, and therefore how powerful Gandalf was.
Also, reread that passage you put down again. Gandalf was -changed-, he was made better, stronger, possibly wiser. That means he is now much stronger then the Balrog, or it is assumed such.
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Though to say that Gandalf was the most powerful being in Arda would possibly an exaggeration. Many of the first eldar are still alive, and their power would be considerable. Tolkein saying so doesn't make it canon, as papa tolkein was occasionally contradictory and often changed the meanings of things in later letters, etc...
For Gandalf the Grey to have fallen to Saruman proves that in the least Saruman the White was his then equal - though clearly more cunning by far.
Sauron without the ring may have been weak, but he would certainly have been more powerful than Gandalf. Gandalf against the Balrog did include a ring as well recall. the word Minion is key also... rarely are minions more powerful than their masters unless they are grossly stupid... and the Balrog being a demon from the earliest days of arda is unlikely to be stupid.
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-sigh- The eldar's power is waning. Even Galadriel admits this, and there is no question about it. This is the reason they are moving west. And, if the author says something about his books, I'm pretty sure it's canon. It's like in real-life: many tales to one story, eh?
And, god, this is ticking me off. Sauron's ring was not one end-all, powerful, godly ring that bestowed one with super-awesome powers. Nor is LoTR like Dragonball Z where everyone has a power level. The ring was made for one purpose: to dominate the -will- of all free races. To control the magic rings given to the leaders of those races. Sauron with the ring would be just like Sauron without the ring: he would hide like a wimp in Barad-Dur and wait for the orcs to slaughter the world while using his power over the three rings to corrupt their users.
Sauron, although a Maia, isn't a warrior. This has been hotly debated and I firmly believe that Sauron is just as frail as Gandalf would be. In fact, he lost his true form and can only take up a host as a form, and I'm positive this limits him greatly.