[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by alatar

• The Ring was no help against the Númenóreans. I'm guessing that the Ring saw a golden opportunity in Ar-Pharazôn, and just itched to get onto his hand. Sauron may have known this and so kept his hand in perpetual 'clench.' Then again, it might have preferred ME to the Land of the Gift, and after the War of Wrath, it might not be too smart to be that close to the Valar.

Originally Posted by alatar

• As the Ring could not be born by fish or the Valar, it made its way back to ME after the Drowning. One might think that Sauron brought it back with him, born on a dark wind or something, yet the Ring may have just followed. Back in ME, Sauron was its most familiar and best bet there, and so it returned to its so-called master.

I was under the impression that the Ring helped Sauron cloud the minds of the Númenóreans, and that he carried it back to ME himself. Tolkien was under the same impression:

"Though reduced to 'a spirit of hatred borne on a dark wind', I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largely depended."

(Letter 211)

Originally Posted by alatar

• Surely when Sauron's body was broken, it had no reason to stay, but if in the War of the Ring we are to believe that a disembodied Sauron can reclaim the Ring, then why didn't go with him to wherever he hid himself for the years between his defeat and reappearance?

You're jumping the gun here. Who says we are to believe that? Sauron was disembodied for a considerable time. By the time of the War of the Ring, however, he had regained physical form:

"You would have become a wraith under the dominion of the Dark Lord; and he would have tormented you for trying to keep his Ring, if any greater torment were possible than being robbed of it and seeing it on his hand."

– Gandalf in "Many Meetings", FOTR.

"That would be Minas Ithil that Isildur the son of Elendil built," said Frodo. "It was Isildur who cut off the finger of the Enemy."

"Yes, he has only four on the Black Hand, but they are enough," said Gollum, shuddering.

–"The Black Gate Is Closed", TTT.

"Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Justice shall be done upon him."

– The heralds of Gondor in "The Black Gate Opens", ROTK.

Note also that Sauron needs a road to get to the Chambers of Fire.

So I don't think there's any reason to assume that he could have actually wielded the Ring while disembodied.