Quote:
Originally Posted by Marwhini
in Morgoth's Ring, and elsewhere, Tolkien points out that No Ainur may be killed, nor their life ended by any but Eru himself.
Both the Balrog and Sauron would know this was well, both being products of the "Mind of God."
But there does seem to be a somewhat rigid authoritarian hierarchy within Morgoth's Servants and Slaves.
As for what they would have done with the One Ring....
I don't know, exactly.
But I suspect that the Balrog's desires, goals, and intentions are different from Sauron's, regardless of the relationship to the One Ring.
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But what would Sauron think with the hand of Eru violently drowning Numenor, destroying the greatest armada ever assembled under Ar-Pharazon, and reshaping the very earth itself after interceding for the Valar? What would Sauron think when his own ruin was almost encompassed in that vengeful tidal wave initiated by Illuvatar Himself? Sauron could not possibly hold any hope for Morgoth's release when the hand of God was against him. And Sauron indeed knew it was Eru who had caused the great tumult:
"For Sauron himself was filled with great fear at the wrath of the Valar, and the doom that Eru laid upon the sea and land."
Like Morgoth, Sauron's reach had exceeded his grasp, and Sauron decided that Valinor was out of reach of Middle-earth forever. He would concentrate his power on the sole dominion of the world that is as Tyrannus Imperator and God of this World, eschewing any thought of Morgoth's return.
As for the Balrog, it was an age and more that it was under any direction from his Dark Lord, Morgorth. The Balrog was a Maia, like Sauron, and seeing Gandalf's fearful denial of the Ring and Saruman's descent from greatness to degeneracy at the mere consideration of holding the Ring, would not the Balrog, too, succumb to the Ring's lure? The Balrog was not like the Wraiths, beholden to Sauron for their existence and enslaved by Rings of their own. He was not some automaton moving at the behest of Sauron. He would not blithely surrender up such a thing as powerful and tempting as the One Ring because Tolkien was quite specific about the effects on even the greatest of beings.