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I wish I had time for a long, well-reasoned post on this interesting subject. But I offer only a minor note, in connection with the issue of humans using magic.
Raynor is right to point out that the 'blade of Westernesse' issue might be solved by the fact that the Numenoreans had some Elvish blood. But I wonder why, if such an easy solution was available, Tolkien still considered it a problem. In any case, I don't know how much authority ought to be attributed to the letter, since Tolkien himself seems to have reconsidered it and, as I recall, never sent it in the end.
Also, I can think of two further, and to my mind much more problematic, examples of Men using magic.
First is Beorn. I know, some will say that The Hobbit shouldn't count, as it was written as a children's book and not originally intended to be part of the mythology. But all indications are that Tolkien did come to consider it a valid, and indeed important, part of his Legendarium. One could, I suppose, say that Beorn was not in fact a human. But this, I think, substitutes a greater problem for a lesser one: if he was not human, what in Arda was he?
The second example is that of the Druedain. That this people is in the possession of some kind of magical skill is quite evident from the essay on them in UT and, particularly, from the story of 'The Faithful Stone' told there.
When one adds these instances to the examples of the Mouth of Sauron's claim to be a sorcerer, Isildur's curse upon the Dead Men, Aragorn's healing skills, and the blade of Westernesse, I think it becomes evident, or at least probable, that Men can in fact use magic.
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