For the argument that Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron's hand after he had been vanquished, I found a quote of Elrond's (an eye-witness, you know... very useful)
Quote:
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Isildur took it... But few marked what Isildur did.
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I have a feeling that in a campaign to destroy the Enemy of all the Free Peoples of Middle Earth, the completion of such a huge undertaking would be pretty well marked by more than a few. My point is that in taking the Ring, Isildur did not do anything spectacular, but was being discrete after the battle was already won and snatched it from a dead hand.
Now to decide between Elendil and Gil-Galad is a tougher choice. Al I can come up with is that Tolkien keeps mentioning Elendil last... of course that really could mean nothing at all, but in the event of a toss-up, I'll let it decide for me.