gandalf as a maia

[Anguirel]

With all due respect, drigel and dwarfguard , I think you're rather underestimating Galadriel. In whatever version of her story you believe, she defies all the Valar with the insouciance of Feanor himself. (Galadriel, Feanor and Saruman are awfully similar. Like repels like.) Mere Maiar hold little fear for her; she studied under Melian (alright, that implies she slightly knew her place, but wasn't intimidated.) Remember Sauron, as Annatar, posed as a Maia out of the west, but both Galadriel and her nephew Gil-Galad openly disdained him anyway.

Galadriel can't be messed with. She's not just great in Third Age terms; she's in the big three of greatest Elves ever (Feanor, Galadriel and the incongruous Luthien). She's an eccentric, a genius, last of a great line, endowed with unlimited wisdom (as she believes) and power. If she wants to cut Saruman dead, she can, Maia or no Maia. And if she identified Olorin, she'd keep his secret only if she felt inclined to (and she would have done).

Good point about passing unseen, though. Slightly scuttles my ideas.