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Someone needs to post evidence of Sauron transforming into a much more powerful being when in possession of his Ring. This seems to be a very common idea, but I've never seen any reason to believe it. Tolkien tells us that Sauron is always in "rapport" with the power contained within the Ring--he always has access to it. He may be weakened to a degree by not having the Ring on his hand, but he never exceeds his original potential. My argument is that Sauron and Olorin (Gandalf) were beings of equal power in their beginnings, and therefore Gandalf's potency was equal to that of Sauron with his Ring.
Possible arguments:
Tolkien, in places, indicates that things would be hopeless and Sauron would be unstoppable if he came into possession of the Ring again. My response: This would have been the ultimate defeat because the only means for overthrowing Sauron at this point in Middle-earth's history was the destruction of the One Ring. All beings with the spiritual potency to resist Sauron were either gone or leaving. Even if they (Galadriel, Elrond perhaps, and Glorfindel) had stayed, they would not have commanded the kind of force necessary to overthrow Sauron militarily. Which leads into possible argument #2:
Why, then, didn't Gandalf just kick Sauron's butt? We're all familiar with the oft-discussed limitations on the Istari. These weren't limitations on their spiritual power (see my links), they were restrictions on how they could address Sauron's threat. Leading an army to destroy Sauron would have resulted in the slaughter of all involved--Sauron's armies were vast, and an army sizeable enough to overcome his would have been impossible to amass. The hope of those warring against Sauron's forces at Minas Tirith was still only in Frodo's quest. They were dead men. The limitations placed upon the Istari were actually a hint from the Powers: in effect, "you've got one hope, and it's not to put up your dukes and challenge him."
Why does Sauron need the Ring, then? Obviously, to prevent anyone from seizing it and claiming it. The quote states that if someone were to bend the Ring to their will, Sauron would be broken and the effect would have been as if the Ring had been destroyed. Sauron needed it, first and foremost, to prevent this possibility (since he never conceived that someone might actually destroy it). He also wanted the power over the Three to eliminate any threat from the elf angle.
The Ring was Sauron's anchor to the physical realm and it contained a large portion of his power. For these reasons it was Sauron's only weakness, and we might cornily adjust The Don's advice thus: "Keep your friends close, but your weaknesses closer."
Remember, Sauron had been defeated before while in possession of the Ring. We might consider it a beefing item for a bearer other than Sauron (who was able to wield it) since they would have access to the majority of Sauron's power; but for Sauron, the Ring only contained his own power and was not a supplementary source for enhancing himself.
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