Hmmm, you may be right about Faramir actually. But then again he may have had to. He was the commander of a medieval-style army; he had to be there in the battle, rather than behind it. His presence was certainly very important in the retreat, and we don't know what problems they had in withdrawing from Ithilien.
The Eagles would have probably been quite a big factor in this battle, as they were in the Battle before the Gates at the despairing march of the Captains of the West. They would have had a similar effect to the Nazgul (but on the other side, of course) in terrorising the enemy and inspiring the Western troops, as has been said. But I do not doubt that they would have been formidable warriors.
A long dive, a lethal and well-aimed strike with huge (remember that these were not ordinary-sized eagles) talons to an unsuspecting enemy, swooping away into the sun and out of harm's way again -- as the unfortunate target's comrades scattered, to be largely hacked down by Elvish or Lakemen soldiers -- to attack again within, probably, not so many tens of seconds. As well as they, their presence would have disrupted the bats in the skies. Remember that Eagles were a deciding factor in the War of Wrath, as well. They would have been a formidable foe.
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