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Unfortunately, the elf host you described, though truly, he is a pretty good host, he doesn't seem the type to feel sympathy, even for a brother who got himself killed by a Balrog.
Of course, once corrupted by the power Sauron has over the dead (he does have power over the spirits who linger, doesn’t he?), the spirit might then (in pride) wish to deceive his master, so that he may be the master (of himself, at least). This does not change the fact, though, that he is under the power of Sauron. I doubt that the spirit would even be able to take over a elven body without accepting Sauron’s power over him. Denying it would cause complications, I believe, with the Houseless fighting an inner battle. He also denies a dark power he might have when following Sauron’s wishes.
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*Fordim falls off his chair laughing * Welcome to my world Durelin! It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who's getting his or her head entirely messed up with this. . .
The complications you point to are precisely the reason why I think this idea will work so well in this game, and why I want to explore it. You seem to want to have this all 'nailed down' before the game starts, but I'd much rather let these sorts of details be worked out as the game goes on -- better yet, I'd like to see them all 'in play' but never really 'resolved'. Again, that's where the real brilliance of LotR lies: is Gollum evil for craving the Ring, or good for having had an unwitting hand in destroying it? Is Frodo evil for taking the Ring (or was he even operating according to his own will)? The orcs are Sauron's slaves, and yet they are always fighting amongst themselves and going against orders -- does he have total control over them or not? Is Boromir corrupted by the Ring, or is he an already corrupt Man responding to the Ring? Everyone can (and usually does) find their own answers to these questions.
But your points, as always, are well taken and I shall attempt to address them. Sauron is absolutely in control of the Houseless, but -- you are right -- the Houseless is so proud in spirit (get it? spirit? proud? I kill me) that he feels he is in charge and that he is fooling the true master: think Denethor and Saruman, both of whom were doing the Dark Lord's bidding, convinced that they were doing what they wanted (not to mention Frodo who thought, when he put on the Ring, that he was making a decision of and for himself rather than succumbing to the Ring).
So it does get rather complicated -- but such is the nature of power in Middle Earth: Sauron controls the Houseless; the Houseless thinks that he is in control; Sauron knows this and lets the Houseless continue in his fantasy of self-determination as it makes the Houseless more easy to control -- "I'm not really the slave of Sauron" says the Houseless to himself, "so I'm not harming my brother, I'm helping him"; host Elf at first believes that the Houseless is not Sauron's slave -- "heh heh, good plan bro', you've really fooled that Dark Lord"; host
and Houseless discover their mistake -- perhaps when they do, the Houseless is able to manage just enough 'energy' to help pull himself out of the brother before succumbing entirely to Sauron??? [New thought, let me mull further. . .]
As to the brother's sympathy for the Houseless -- he would, naturally, feel great sympathy for his brother, as any brother would. But I imagine that the even more compelling reason for his acceptance of the Houseless would be a decidedly Elvish sense of familial duty and loyalty; what's more, the promise of being able to 'team up' with his brother and to strike a real blow against Sauron (and here imagine Sauron laughing maniacally at how he has fooled them both) would be more than he could resist.
Totally Unrelated Thought -- has Sauron ever appeared, either as a character or NPC, in an RPG. . .might be a fun idea for another totally different game someday.
I'm afraid I agree with the comments re: Elvish women coming along for the ride in this one -- looks like it's going to have to be a boys' adventure. . .