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With regards to the the Ring though, why is then that only two characters actually made an attempt to take the Ring? Boromir and Smeagol. What is it that sets these two apart?
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Seems to me that this is an interesting point that hasn't yet been as fully explored as it might.
As far as Boromir is concerned, he believes that the Ring can be used to defend his people and defeat Sauron. He is expressly told that the Ring cannot be used in this way, but he is proud and arrogant enough to believe that he can overcome its power and use it for good. (In this sense, he is ignorant: he ignores what he is told concerning the Ring, preferring his own counsel.) Now, if these were the only factors at work, I do not believe that he would have attempted to seize the Ring off Frodo by force. It is the Ring, working on these innate weaknesses in his character, that makes him resort to this uncharacteristically ignoble act.
And quite rightly, a distinction is made between Boromir's ignorance of the futility of attempting to wield the Ring and the recognition of such futility by the likes of Galadriel, Elrond, Gandalf, Aragorn and Faramir. As representatives of the Eldar, Maiar and Edain, they have sufficient wisdom to recognise and accept its dangers and are able to resist the temptation to take it when it is freely offered to them, or when it is theirs for the taking. Can we assume from this that they would never have been tempted to seize it by force, or would prolonged exposure to it perhaps have driven even them to make a grab for it? Certainly, from what Gandalf and Galadriel say, they recognise that they would not have been able long to resist its power had they accepted it when it was offered to them.
Few others come into close enough contact with the Ring to be tempted by it. But what of Legolas and Gimli? No doubt, they too would have succumbed to its powers as Ringbearers, but would they ever have been driven to seize it? Legolas is an Elf, but relatively young. Would he have been tempted by it given sufficient time and exposure? Did Dwarves have any particular resistance, or would Gimli have succumbed? Bilbo's Dwarvish companions exhibit no particular desire for it, but then it was not at the height of its powers at that time.
And finally, what of the Hobbits? My understanding is that Hobbits display an almost unique resistance to the kind of power with which the Ring is imbued. And so they make "ideal" Ringbearers. Of course, Bilbo is reluctant to give it up, although he is able to do so. And Frodo claims it as his own on the edge of Mount Doom, although only after having succeeded in his struggle with it long enough to get it there. But they were Ringbearers, and so were directly exposed to it (as was Sam during his brief tenure as a Ringbearer, and he is also able to resist it). I doubt that Sam, Merry or Pippin would ever have been driven to try and seize it.
Which brings me to my final question, and one which has puzzled me for some time. Smeagol was originally a Hobbit (sometimes he is described as having come from a Hobbit-like race, but what else could he have been?) So, if Hobbits are supposed to be peculiarly resistant to the Ring, why is Smeagol driven to murder his friend for it by the mere sight of it? This does seem to me to be at odds with the idea of Hobbits as being the race which is most resistant to the Ring.