[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

Agreed, Aragorn would not have followed Gollum's lead. But Gollum followed all of them long before they reached the outskirts of Mordor, and there was not much he could do about it, and would have been able to do less once they were in Mordor. Rather I think Gollum would have turned up at the end, following in just the way he followed Frodo and Sam to Orodruin.

I think this connects to the discussion on the nature of the rings, how in wielding the ring Galadriel said one had to turn the will to the domination of others. I think the temptation to take the ring from Frodo would have been greatest if opposed their will at any point (when he would is unclear to me), bringing out a wish to control him - for the better of all of course. Knowing "what's best" would have been a slippery slope for both of them. It seems to me the more complicated the motives, the more easily twisted.