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Originally Posted by Boromir88
If I remember correctly in BoLT Tolkien even played with the idea of Balrogs riding upon Dragons).
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That's an amazing image - how
awesome would this have been, in every sense of the word?!
Heh, and it also hints that the Balrogs did not have wings, if they needed steeds to ride upon...but that's not the discussion, is it?
Anyway. The thing with dragons is that they are not merely 'dumb animals' but truly terrifying creatures possessed with genuine intelligence and magical powers such as Glaurung's hypnotic stare - reminiscent of the Basilisk. And Tolkien, who 'desired dragons with a profound desire' would not have created stupid, animal-like dragons, he could only create truly terrifying, sentient dragons. However Melkor could not have created sentient beings, which is the sticking point. But he could have corrupted existing beings and bred from and with existing animals, and in so doing, create dragons who served Melkor's purposes.
In early drafts about the fall of Gondolin Tolkien wrote of mechanical objects which were in the form or shape of dragons attacking the city, reminiscent of the machinery of war in WWI (the flammenwerthers), but later had actual dragons engaged in this warfare - much more satisfying.