the path of the ring

[Finwe]

The path that the Ring was taken on was taken on through necessity. Necessity changes along with circumstances. Had Gandalf been alive, then I think that the Fellowship would have split up even quicker. Boromir and Gandalf would have repeatedly clashed over the path that the Ringbearer would take. Both Gandalf and Aragorn knew Denethor, and also knew that he would take the Ring at the first opportunity, and become corrupted by it. However, there is also the possibility that Gandalf could "see through" Boromir, and realize that Denethor was just using him to get to the Ring. Once Boromir became convinced of that, then perhaps things would go differently. At most, the Three Hunters would have become the Four Hunters (with the addition of Gandalf) or perhaps the Five Hunters (with the addition of both Gandalf and Boromir) but Merry and Pippin would have still probably been captured, and Frodo and Sam would have still gone their separate way.

Like I said before, necessity changes with circumstances. Since the survival of Gandalf would have definitely changed the circumstances that the Fellowship had to submit to, their needs would have also changed. They would have had to face different dangers, and different problems. The path that the Ring would be taken on would have been changed, depending on the changing circumstances.