Thanks for replies, they are very convincing. I, however, still think there was no point for Vallar to restrict Istari's inherent powers "physically" - they were naturally limited by their human bodies and the necessity to relearn skills and attitudes in the new environment. Gandalf's battle with the Balrog and Saruman's domination over Isengard and his army are something an "unrestricted" Maya can achieve.
I also would agree now that knowing or not knowing, Sauron could hardly have other way to act - his misunderstanding of Istari's task pre-determined this. May be the fall of Saruman even contributed into Sauron's wrong take on the matter.
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