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Originally Posted by Elladan and Elrohir
Yep, right on, no question the Dead had to be at Minas Tirith. Non-negotiable. Unfortunately, the result is that it makes all the previous fighting by the Rohirrim seem inconsequential. The question is, is it in fact inconsequential? One might argue that the city would have been completely taken and razed before 'Gorn and the Dead showed up, had Rohan not been there. But do you guys buy that?
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What I don't like (here we go again...) is that at least in the books I can see a reason that the Army of the Dead not being effective in Mordor. Caught between the ghosts and Sauron, the orcs would still attack the Lords of the West. In the movies, there seems to be nothing that can stop the AotD, and so why Aragorn dispels them before cleaning Middle Earth of ALL enemies is beyond me.
If we saw rowers in chains on the pirate ships - PJ in character could even lash them once or twice - we could continue the seen as viewed, then later, when the Black Ships reach Minas Tirith, not only could the AotD de-boat, but others besides our three heroes could join the fight as well. This would show that Aragorn is a leader of men. The Dead could scare the orcs into making stupid decisions - shooting each other, driving mumakil into siege towers, etc - and the newly arrived Rohirrim and heroes/rowers could catch the enemy between hammer and anvil. To simplify things, this could happen as the Witch-King was about to ride into the City. He, of course, could turn back to help with the newcomers, and a few assorted orcs and trolls could enter just to make PJ's point. A clever writer still could give us a rollercoaster ride with the same end, yet have the Dead play less of a part.
From my keyboard to Eru's ear.