Things a character would not have wanted to be caught doing

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Would that be a sequel or prequel to "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire"?

It must be a sequel. The prequel was The Fall and Rise of the Roman Empire, in which the Republic fakes its own death in order to escape the mundanities of suburban life.

Briskly returning to the subject:

Saruman: Borrowing Ulmo's magic car and cruising around using his Voice to pick up girls.

Glorfindel: Chickening out of meeting the Fellowship and sending Arwen instead.