I believe that the key to the One Ring's power over the Nine is not that it "prolonged" their lives, but rather that it trapped them in the world to advance its own purposes, much as Morgoth created the Orcs in mockery of the Children of Illuvatar for his own purposes. He brought them into the world of darkness, and I am sure that had they been given the opportunity to depart from the world they would have forsaken Sauron and followed the fate of Men. It was just that they didn't have a choice, being slaves to the will of Sauron and trapped in the wraith world... Sorry if this all seems kind of vague and broad but I would have to do a little research on Tolkien's ideas about the soul, the essence of being and ghosts/wraiths in order to provide a more complete insight.
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...where the instrument of intelligence is added to brute power and evil will, mankind is powerless in its own defence.
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