Definitely. Even Frodo possessing it was preferable to 'Him' getting it back.
What I find perhaps most fascinating in all these interactions was that Gollum, after being tortured in the presence of Sauron himself, was definitely terrified of Him, but not cowed enough to turn into a reliable slave - on the contrary, still able to scheme to protect the Precious from Him. That's no small strength of will for an over five-hundred year old Stoor weakened by decades of Ring withdrawal.
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Und aus dem Erebos kamen viele seelen herauf der abgeschiedenen toten.- Homer, Odyssey, Canto XI
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