[The Saucepan Man]

Gollum feared Sauron with a great fear.

Yes, Gollum did fear Sauron, but he hated him more, as is clear from the following passage concerning Sauron's torture of Gollum from The Hunt for the Ring in Unfinished Tales:

Then he became filled with a hatred of Sauron even greater than his terror, seeing in him truly his greatest enemy and rival.

But I think that the effect was much the same. Gollum's fear and hatred of Sauron meant that he would not willingly surrender the Ring to him or let him gain control of it.

I agree with most of what you say, Imladris, concerning the various factors influencing Gollum's actions at this point in the story. I do, however, disagree with your conclusion that, had Gollum seized the Ring from Frodo:

he also would have shown his loyalty to Frodo by casting himself into Mount Doom thereby destroying the Ring and himself as well.

It seems to me that Gollum's preferred option on seizing the Ring would have been to get as far away as possible from Frodo and from Sauron and his minions so that he could keep the Ring for himself. After all, the Ring was his ultimate desire. He had convinced himself that it was rightfully his - his birthday present.

But of course the Ring would have had its part to play as well. Its desire was to get back to its Master and, in Gollum's hands, it would no doubt have found the task much easier than it did in the hands of Frodo. As I have said above, Gollum would not willingly have surrendered the Ring to Sauron, but I have little doubt that it would only have been a matter of time before it betrayed him and he was picked up by Sauron's agents.

Certainly, I do not believe that Gollum would willingly have destroyed the Ring, even by throwing himself into Mount Doom with it. Ultimately, none could willingly destroy the Ring, not even Frodo. And I believe that this would hold true for any attempt by the bearer to destroy himself with it.

It is difficult to say what would have happened had Sam not treated Gollum in the way that he did. Perhaps the outcome would have been similar, with Gollum accompanying Frodo and Sam all the way to Mount Doom and then making a play for the Ring when Frodo claimed it as his own at Sammath Naur. But it is also possible that, as they neared Mount Doom, the lure of the Ring would have become irresistible to him and he would have found an opportunity to seize it. In light of what I have said above, I believe that such an eventuality would have virtually guaranteed victory for Sauron.

So, who knows? Perhaps Sam was "meant" to treat Gollum in the way that he did. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]