Alatar,
I tend to agree with your view on Gandalf and Sir Ian's work, however my impression is that even in the book he was never Gandalf the Infallible. What puzzled me was the fact that he was described as explosive and, sometimes, impatient (while, on the other hand, kind, forgiving and merry). In Aman Olorin was the Spirit of Wisdom, which is the sister of patience, so it looked as a kind of an inconsistence until I assume it was one of the personal features of his embodiment - something he had to overcome as physical exhaustion or pain. On the other hand, the lack of passion could result in the wizzard abandoning his quest as it happened to Rhadagast the Brown. So please forgive the old man his moodiness, especially if we discuss Gandalf the Grey.
For Gandalf the White... Oh, they didn't know what to do with him in the movie... No country for old man... They used him to deal with Saruman, but then... The only thing he does up to his book potential is repelling Nazgul and saving Faramir, the rest could have been done by someone else. After his encounter with Witch King he is a broken man, while in the book Gandalf the White is a righteous Steward of Middle Earth, teaching Aragorn the last and the most important lesson about power: what it is and should be. I cannot blame Sir Ian for this, as it has already been discussed that PJ and Co decided to enhance Aragorn and in fact diminished Gandalf.
Btw, I am sure Gandalf had no idea what Durin's Bane was until they meet at Kazad Doom. Saruman, pushing the Ring into Balrog's domain is laughable, but I'll keep it for Saruman's discussion.
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