One thing Is certain, Gandalf was worried about Sauron using the dragon Smaug. In U.T. the quest for Erebor He says...
"You may think that Rivendell was out of his reach, but I did not think so. The state of things in the North was very bad. The Kingdom under the Mountain and the strong men of Dale were no more. To resist any force that Sauron might send to regain the northern passes in the mountains and the old lands of Angmar there were only the Dwarves of the Iron hills, and behind them lay a desolation and a dragon. The Dragon Sauron might use with terrible effect. Often I said to myself: I must find some way of dealing woth Smaug.
It seems clear that Gandalf intervention kept at least one dragon from joining the War of the Ring. I think that Smaug was the only real dragon threat at the time.
[ March 06, 2003: Message edited by: Michel Delving ]
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