[Olorin_TLA]

Very few had any ideathat the Wizard's were Maia. In a snese they're all related to each other, springing from the mind of Eur, so why not say he's a cousin, it may literally be true in a sense!
I seem to remember in "Letters" Tolkien saying what some of you said, thta because his attention drifted to too much focus of animals and plants instead of Men and Elves and Dwarves, he effectively failed, though not so far as Gandalf. That's why he doesn't go to Valinor with Gandalf; but he may go later if he makes up for it by helping the rational races more.
Also: I believe he would have had a large role to play in the stuggle agaisnt Dol Guldur, near his home. When Elrond sends messangers to look for him when Frodo is in Rivendell, they can't find him. It would therefore seem that he's busy preparing for something - probably the invasion of Dol Guldur which took place a few months later.
Also: Gandalf calls him "a master of shapes and hues." He could proabbaly go into a raging Beorn-like bear shape, and I wouldn't call him useless to his face when he was like that. [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]