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The people who chose to follow Turgon also chose to go to Gondolin and live there for safety, but the very fact that they are not allowed to leave deprives them of that same free will. That is totalitarian, and I do question whether any leader has the moral right to do that, even in Tolkien's world.
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You are misapplying your terms. Even in the modern world are we completely free to go where we choose across international borders? I seriously doubt Turgon made any undue regulations regarding the movement of his people
inside his kingdom. External affairs were governed by the fact that there was this pesky war going on.
Nobody in Beleriand was “free” to go frolicking about as they pleased. Turgon adopted absolute secrecy as a matter of policy
on the advice of a Vala. The survival of Gondolin, as Turgon himself noted, was utterly dependent on secrecy. Once the kingdom was discovered it was done for.
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but sometimes what might seem to work, will ultimately fail
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An unimpressive argument. Looked at from a practical perspective, one could hardly know what will work and what will not beforehand.
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as one who has become unable to fucntion independently.
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And how exactly would you suggest she function on her own “independently?” Would you like to have seen her set up her own realm somewhere?
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He is anything but a hero. And he is not wise. His biggest error was to attempt to keep Gondolin a hidden city, though again, it was inevitable that one of the Noldor would try this method.
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I do think that Turgon made a terrible decision in attempting to hide Gondolin, and it had disastorus consequences which were inevitable.
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Ulmo.
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Instead, Turgon just accepted
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What else should he have done? Stayed and died? Hurin and Huor
wanted him to go and they did not wish to leave themselves. Useless argument back and forth would not have improved that rotten situation. There was an opportunity and there was only time to accept it or reject it.
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You'd never have caught Finrod Felagund behaving like that.
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I think he probably would have done the exact same thing.