Sauron and Istari

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Sarumian

But if Sauron had known, would he have done something in a different way? For example, knowing there is a Maya in Gondor (who had just managed to have a Balrog killed), would Sauron have sent the host under Witch King to Minas Tirith? Or would he have rather waited for more reinforcements? Or the situation with the Ring seemed so pressing that Sauron, in fact, had little choice?

And if Sauron knew or suspected Gandalf was a Maia, what should he have thought on the fact that Gandalf did not claim the Ring that was in his proximity for so long, especially when he was safely beyond Sauron's reach?

First - I am actually not sure if he would have done something different. And second - maybe he even knew. But exactly the fact you are referring to (that Gandalf did not claim the Ring, even though he had had plenty of time for that) would perhaps have further convinced Sauron that whether the guys he is facing are Maiar or not, they are just weak fools. For example (this is pure speculation, but it is one possible way Sauron could have looked at the thing), Sauron could have told himself: okay, Gandalf is a Maia. However, he did not take the Ring. Instead, he possibly wants to give it to Isildur's heir. Why? Answer: obviously, because he feels himself too weak to claim it for himself! Ergo, he must be SO limited by his body, that he's somehow totally weak! Therefore, useless and not dangerous. End of debate, for Sauron. I think such kind of thinking is exactly what we know Sauron to be prone to.

So in general, I could imagine the fact of the Istari being Maiar not really having as much impact. Sauron was "weighing all things to a nicety on the scale of his malice", and what mattered was not what one was, but what one could have represented.