[Salocin]

Thank you for the clarification on repeating things Manwe Sulimo. Here is my argument in full. I think it will answer a few of the questions that have been asked about Saruman's ring.

Maia seem to be able to put power into objects which seem to amplify the power. The most obvious example of this is The One Ring, into which Sauron placed a great portion of his power and this partially accounts for why he is more powerful than other maia, including the Istari and Balrogs.(Another reason for this is that Melkor put a lot of his power in his servants to make them more powerful)
I think that although the Valar probably gave the Istari extra power, they either put some power into the staffs or made the Istari put some of their own power into them. This would most likely significantly increase the Istari's power provided they had the staff. The power of the staves, unlike the Rings of Power, could probably only be harnessed by the Wise, since they were made with the intention to aid the Istari, not rule the weak.

This would raise the question of why Gandalf had his staff after his imprisonment in Orthanc. My theory is that Saruman had the power to imprison Gandalf but had neither the athority nor the power, having fallen from his original status as the White Wizard, to take away his staff. Later, when Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff, he has been sent back to middle earth as the White Wizard and, in a very confusing passage right after he reunites with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimly, he reveals that he is, in a way, Saruman while Saruman is not. Having userpt Saruman as the leader of the Istari, he had the athority and the power to break the staff of the fallen Saruman.

As for Sarumans ring, I think he probably put as much power into it as he could, which I do not think could have been that much if he had already had to put most of it into his staff. I would agree that the main power he put into it was the power of his voice and abilty to command others. This could explain why it was so powerful and why it was essentially the only power remaining to him once his staff was broken, provided he still had his ring.

I am afraid I do not see the argument for the need of Maia to be attached phisically to middle earth in order to have power. The phisical bodies of the Maia seem to be governed by the same rules as those of the Elves, they are immortal from disease and old age but not from violent death or death by grief. When they die their souls go back to the Imortal Lands. Obviously the souls of fallen Maia do not go to Valinor. I believe Mr.Tolkien makes it quite clear that their souls are rejected by the west and are forced to follow in the footsteps of Melkor into banishment in the outer darkness in the passages describing the destruction of The Ring, and consicuently Sauron's death, and the death of Saruman.