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You make it sound like such a black and white proposition. I agree that the Ring is not a completely inanimate object. But does it have the ability to analyze a situation and then "decide" whether or not it will "allow" itself to be used? How aware is it? How sentient is it? It's also stated that Sauron is "exerting all his power to find it or draw it to himself". Are the Ring's "actions" more "reactions" to this signal that Sauron is broadcasting? You assume that Sauron working on (or through) the Ring means he knows where it is and what it is doing. This need not be so. When I listen to my Walkman, the radio station works through it without knowing where my Walkman is or what it is doing. A computer can act "autonomously", but it obviously does not necessarily follow that it is intelligent or aware. The Ring, when worn, creates a sort of conduit to Sauron -- but clearly it lacks the ability to call out to him or to make a report on its location and situation.
Also, I notice that you were quick to point out earlier in the thread that Gandalf and Galadriel's ideas about how the Ring works are only theoretical and cannot be relied upon, but are now willing to take Gandalf's speculation that the Ring "decided" to "abandon" Gollum at face value. Which way do you want it?
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