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"There came a hundred thousand Orcs, and a thousand Balrogs,..."
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The Lost Road (HoME 5)
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"Thence, seeing that all was lost (for that time), he sent forth on a sudden a host of Balrogs, the last of his servants that remained, and they assailed the standard of Manwë, as it were a tide of flame. But they were withered in the wind of his wrath and slain with the lightning of his sword; and Melkor stood at last alone."
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Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10)
There are quite a few references to thousands of Balrogs in the HoME series. The only reference to the number 7 comes from a note that Chris Tolkien placed beside a passage saying that his father said that at most no more than 3 or 7 ever existed. While it is entirely possible and even probable that Tolkien wanted to reduce the number of Balrogs drastically, even to 7, we can never know for sure if he would have actually done so.
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"Maia did not reproduce, so there were no lesser Balrogs to be made"
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While there may not have been lesser Balrogs per say, Morgoth certainly had other lesser Maia under him, I believe that’s what Keeper meant by "lesser Balrogs." Also the ring enhanced Sauron’s power to dominate the wills of others. With the Ring I believe that Sauron would have been able to command the Balrog. As early as 2480 the Balrog was coexisting with Sauron’s orcs, but I doubt Sauron could have commanded the Balrog without the Ring.
As for lesser wraith’s Frodo was being turned into one and the Barrow Wights were also under the sway of Sauron. The watchers that guarded the Tower of Cirith Ungol were not orcs or trolls. Throughout the book it is hinted at the fact that Sauron’s got more up his sleeves than orcs and trolls.
[ January 24, 2002: Message edited by: Thingol ]