I agree that both Gandalf and Frodo would have done their utmost to save Gollum, even if he would not live for long. Frodo even tried saving Wormtongue, of whom he only heard stories, and Saruman, who really had truly malicious intentions and who had all but destroyed the Shire. It stands to reason that Frodo would try to pull Smeagol out of his black hole too.
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Originally Posted by Inziladun
With Gollum, having the Ring lost forever would have left him with no reason to live, and unfortunately, no motive to try and return to some semblance of the old Sméagol that had been before he encountered it.
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I agree with your earlier thoughts, but this one's not sitting right with me. I think that the whole point of Frodo and/or Gandalf's aid and support in this case is to provide him with the reason - if not a reason to live, then at least a reason to die as Smeagol and not as Gollum. I believe that Gollum would wither soon because the source of his unnatural lifespan would be gone, but the physical death does not necessarily have to be connected to an utter depression. Furthermore, I think that the Ring never served as a motive to bring out the Smeagol. That was purely Frodo's doing. The only thing that the preciousss motivated was Gollum. Without the Ring and with Frodo's guidance, Gollum still has a fair chance to die a hobbit and not a creature, to have a positive end. So, unless he commits suicide in a fit of madness in the first little while while Frodo is still unconscious (and, much as Gandalf would love to help, we need Frodo here to do the job), he has the best chance in the world to wipe clean some of his inner darkness.