It's an interesting thought. I personally don't think that Smeagol was taking the Ring to keep it away from Sauron or to save Frodo. He wanted the Ring. He had wanted it ever since Deagol found it. Now he saw that it was going to be destroyed and he wouldn't let that happen, so he attacked Frodo. He probably did see that Sauron could take the Ring at that point but I don't think that that was a motive for trying to take the Ring. And falling into the lava was a pure accident on Gollum's part, with perhaps some intervention on Eru's part.
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