I haven't posted much on this topic before, though it is something that I've thought about. I do not really know where I stand in the debate, however.
I have a couple thoughts to share, of consequence or not.
Olorin-you make a very good point that makes a lot of sense. Why would Morgoth do something that really wasn't necessary or beneficial? There have been many good suggestions as to reasons for him to, but one large one that I have to say is the intimidation factor. Throughout Tolkien's work, evil beings and people do many things to frighten and daunt their enemies, and it usually works pretty well. Animals in nature now--and people, too--use this strategy as well. It would certainly dampen most people's spirits or even discourage them from challenging a foe that appears to be very large and with characteristics that would give it an advantage. Wings definitely add to size and the way something looks (in a good or bad way) and also usually give the wing-ee (or being that has the wings) extra skills or power. What if you attacked a flightless winged but Balrog but didn't know it couldn't fly? Might you think that it would be able to attack you, defend itself, escape, or do something else with its wings? It would at least look pretty scary. But wouldn't it look scary already? (Look, I'm contradicting myself again! If I ramble too much, just ignore me...) A demon of fire already well-known for being formidable, and well, a Balrog! Would it need extra unwieldy appendages just to add to a quality it already had?
I have one more point to add in opposition to wings:
Quote:
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His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.
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This is from FotR--there isn't much description in the texts I have of other Balrog battles. What struck me is that Tolkien, the master of words and their usage, usually doesn't say something needlessly. In this scene he used the words "like wings" in his description. Might this mean that he intended to only describe the shape and size of the shadow, rather than the Balrog? Perhaps if he'd meant to say that wings could actually be seen it would say "as wings" or the shadow and flame "surrounding wings" or "Gandalf and the members of the Fellowship could see that the Balrog had two distinct wings on his back and made mental notes to tell everyone at home about it." I don't know...maybe I shouldn't be trying to comprehend what went on inside the professor's mind...