re: Laundry list of LOTR questions

I’ll give you my take based from years of reading and researching Tolkien’s works. A lot of information has been changed and edited over the years, especially from Chris Tolkien.

1. No one heard from Balin and his party after they attempted to reclaim it after the events of the Hobbit. Gimli made a bad assumption that they were alive and well with a reclaim to Khazad-Dum.

2. Goblins/Orcs were servants to the Durin’s Bane, The Balrog, but obviously scared to death of it when it was pissed off.

3. Gollum had lived and survived in mountains for 500 years.....he learned a few things about scaling rock.

4. The Uruk-Hai were created by Sauramon using his own recipe (black magic).

5. Sauramon was actually looking for the ring himself in the books, and planned to overthrow Sauron.

6. The Witch King of Agmar was a wraith, neither living or dead. I don’t think it necessarily had more power than the Maiar, but they were feared by all because they had the will and control of Sauron.

7. Sauron created the rings to bind control over all races and dominate Middle Earth with no opposition. He wanted the leaders of Elves and Dwarves to fall into wraiths like the men. Sauron learned to put all of his own power in the one ring which would keep him alive as long as the ring survived. Pretty much what kept him around terrorizing Middle Earth for almost 4,000 years.