[MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie]

Iarhen, good questions. First, you said

without having their wills bent towards the will of Sauron

I don't think that's necessarily true. They would turn evil in some way, but their will would not be bent towards Sauron. It could remain very different and they could always oppose Sauron, but Sauron still would overthrow them and defeat them, with the help of the ring itself. And that's excluding those you mentioned of course. And then you said

since all maiar I assume they could control the Ring to their wills, and they would ultimately destroy Sauron and take over his place.

I think you had it right when you said 'could' for the first part, but you forgot about the second part. You can't say they would, because we don't know that. I think that Gandalf would be the most likely to succeed in this, but what about the others. Just because they are maiar doesn't mean that they will. I think it's safe to leave the two blue wizards out of this since we know reletively little about them. Saruman would be next after Gandalf, but he obviously is overconfident and that could lead to his downfall. And are you talking about him being able to do this at his prime? If so, I still think he's very vulnerable since he's so cocky. And there are other factors too, but the bottom line is I think that he would not overthrow Sauron. Radagast, I don't know. I would not think so since he is ignorant to certain agendas and since he has isolated himself. I'd say no for him also.

And back to that same thing, they can't control the ring. only Sauron can, and that's why he is the Lord of the rings. The ring has it's own will binded with Saurons and the ring does not let other's control it. It will trick its bearer and manipulate it for its own device and benefit. So, the ring actually controls the user. Just because the bearer might be more powerful with the ring than Sauron is, doesn't mean they won't eventually fall. They can and probably will, but besides that, if the ring is never destroyed, that means that Sauron will live on. And I think if you give him enough time, he will eventually regain the ring.

Now, to the other stuff.
Tom Bombadil:

he had control over the Ring's effects over him.

I don't think it's safe to say that about Tom. Just because there is no effect doesn't mean that he has control over the ring. He might, it's a possibility, but the ring might not effect him only in his given realm, meaning the area he lives in and rules, with certain borders. What happens if he steps outside of his realm? Maybe the ring could effect him out there. But we don't know for sure. And maybe the ring did have some effect over him but we just were not aware. Kind of far-fetched but it's another possibility. The ring sort of has a mind of its own, so maybe it was using trickery to make Tom think that there was no effect on him but the ring might have actually been holding back to decieve him, maybe.

But if he wanted to use it for his purposes, would he be able to? I think it would depend on what his nature is... a maiar?

If the ring had absolutely no effect on him, then no, he could not use it. If he had control of th ering, then yes, I think he could control the ring. And then it all depends on whether he's inside his realm or not, and whether the ring is playing tricks or not. No one knows what he is. You call it nature, and I'm not sure what his nature is. He's an enigma.

Fangorn:

Could and Ent use the Ring?

Yes, I think so. It would look wierd but I think that it is possible.

Since it was a mighty living being, with power and ages of wisdom and self control, could he use the Ring?

Yes he could use the ring, I think, but he would be easily corrupted I think. Just because they are mighty, doesn't mean they would have any more of a chance if they weren't mighty. Physical attributes do not make a difference when dealing with the ring. The ring operates through the mind therefore you have a mental battle. And it would definately not be good to have a big ego or an overconfidence to you since the ring could easily play off that. Remember, Boromir? He was mighty, yet he was easily deceived by the ring, and he didn't even touch the ring. And the ents are not that wise either. They might be among themselves in their own region, but they are isolated and very ignorant to the politics of the world they live in. Tolkien even says that Treebeard, the most wise of them all, is not considered among the wise since there is much he does not know. Yes, they do seem to have a great sense of self-control. But if Merry and Pippin can rouse them up that easily (or maybe it was Saruman that did it) what makes you think the ring can't. I'm sure the ring can easily take adavantage of their, well...anti-hasty way of life, which includes their thinking probably. And if they do lose self-control, they seem to be, well, out of control. The ring can definately take advantage of that too. I don't think that the ents would stand much of a chance.

Galadriel:

Being the most powerful elf on M.E., and already a ring bearer, could she take it?

Yes she could take it but she wouldn't do much good with it. I think that Sauron would definately defeat her and the ring would decieve her. Frodo offers her the ring and without even touching it she already has a little power trip, just by imagining. I think that the ring was tempting her there, and that it would overcome her will, eventually. And she is a really powerful elf, but that doesn't make a difference. She still is not as strong as Sauron. And you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And even though she is already a ringbearer, that also doesn't help her. Her ring is not at all like her ring, it is very different. If she did take the one ring and thought she would stand a good chance because she's already a ringbearer, then the ring would definately win. Why? Well because the ring is different and she would definately not be used to it, and secondly, overconfidence.

I assume her power would grow big enough to challenge Sauron and eventually defeat him.

I don't think so. I stated why just above that quote. Even if she somehow does defeat him, he will still come back since the ring is not destroyed, and then there's still the issue of the ring. That would corrupt her while she's busy dealing with Sauron. Sauron would keep coming back and eventually see his chance and take it. Sauron and the ring would have time on there sides.

Elrond and Cirdan:

Powerful elves, too. A ring bearer and one who used to have Narya. Could they posses the Ring and resist Sauron?

No. It's just the same as Galadriel.

Aragorn:

Since of numenorean blood and high lineage, could he take the Ring and use it wisely enough to drive his forces and overcome Sauron?

Also no. And for the same reasons stated above. And besides, we see that he goes against Sauron when looking in the palantir. Although he wins, he is very exhausted. If he had the ring, he would have to fight a battle with the ring, fight Sauron, and besides that, there's the issue of time, which is on the side of the ring and Sauron.

The Lord of the Nazgul:

Could he? A powerful wizard, even though dominated by Sauron's will, he had domination over the other Nazgul. So, with the aid of the One Ring, could he challenge Sauron's will?

Once again, no. He was Sauron's servant. Sauron already had decieved him and corrupted him through the nine rings. And Sauron has complete authority over all nazgul. The other nazgul would obey Sauron's orders, not the Witch King's (assuming the witch king goes against Sauron). And is it even possible for the nazgul to posses the one ring. I guess they could hold it, but I don't think they could use it since they are wraiths. And besides, even if they could, the thought to overthrow Sauron and take the one ring would never enter their mind at all.

The Balrog:

A maiar, so I pressume he could effectively take the One Ring and overthrow Mordor and its Lord.

Hmmmm....This is mind-boggler, if that's even a word. I do not know. It's a possibility, but eventually Sauron would regain the ring if it was not destroyed.