LotR -- Book 3 - Chapter 11 - The Palantír

[the phantom]

Because Gandalf the White was a lot stronger... You don't want to take the element of surprise away

Ahh... in other words, meeting Sauron through the palantir would likely give away not only Gandalf's identity but also his changed nature (the power-boost he was given when sent back by Eru).

I suppose this might encourage Sauron to change his strategy a bit? I suppose that wouldn't be a good thing, since who knows how Sauron would alter his plans. Perhaps he'd focus on capturing Gandalf and pull back from the war for a bit? He would figure that capturing Gandalf would give him information about his Ring and rid his opponents of a great weapon.

And concerning the surprise element- that does make sense. If you know that the other team has a Michael Jordan all-star type guy playing for them, you would alter your strategy in an attempt to limit the ways he can hurt you. If you don't know ahead of time then you get caught off guard and get burned a bit by him before you can adjust.

Thanks for the answer, Kuru. I needed someone to help my wheels start turning.