Nogrod I'm with you on this one! I have problems with Sauron in LotR too. I suppose I'm used to meatier bad guys and here we have almost a metaphorical evil.
But then how Sauron works as an enemy I think is by the things which he does and causes. We see Orcs, Balrogs, Fell Beasts, Ringwraiths, Trolls, and of course, the effects of those Rings. Sauron in that respect does not need a 'face'. Like many other evils that have ridden the psyches of this world (fears of reds under the bed, terrorists, bogeymen in the wardrobe, global warming etc) we don't always need a face, it's enough to be scared witless by possibility and our own fears eating us up.
In LotR, he's almost become so evil that he doesn't even need to be seen any more. Now that's real evil power!
As a character though, Sauron is much,
much more interesting elsewhere. Oh I'd love to see him dancing in the lightning on Numenor - what an image!
