Of course, Gandalf had already fallen prey to the Balrog of Morgoth during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Yet, this fight was surprisingly an even match, since the Balrog was once an angelic being as well, meaning that their level of power came close to that of a wizard.
His theft of the Silmarils and wars against Elves and Men encompassed much of the history of the late First Age. Eventually, Morgoth was bound in chains by the Valar and thrown into the Void, leaving the permanent damage his evils had done, and his former lieutenant Sauron, to trouble the world.
Gandalf, even in his reincarnated form, was not as powerful as several Valar. Not even as the Maia Olórin was he as powerful as Morgoth, or even Morgoth's servant, Sauron, who he admitted he was afraid of.
Gandalf, known temporarily as the Grey and later the White, and originally named Olórin (Quenya), was an Istar (Wizard), dispatched to Middle-earth in the Third Age to combat the threat of Sauron.
It was the Balrog that Gandalf had fought and eventually defeated after ten days of fighting. But the Balrog has a clear predecessor in Norse literature in the form of fire-giant Surtr, which means “the black one” or “the swarthy one”.
Ranking the 9 Powerful Monsters of Morgoth - LOTR Lore
Who has killed a Balrog?
The only recorded instances of Balrogs having been slain are Gandalf's slay of Durin's Bane, Echtelion's slay of Gothmog and Glorfindel's slay of an unnamed Balrog.
Secondly, Balrogs were the epitome of malice and power while Sauron only ever won one of three fights he ever had. Sauron was the great deceiver. His power lies in planning, subterfuge, manipulation, and corruption.
Though wizards are technically Maiar, they do not possess all the same abilities in their wizard forms. This is why, despite Balrogs and Sauron also being Maiar, Gandalf wasn't evenly matched in his wizarding form—especially as Gandalf the Grey.
Finally Sauron came out to fight Elendil and Gil-galad face to face. When Elendil fell, his sword Narsil broke beneath him. Isildur took up the hilt-shard of Narsil and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, vanquishing Sauron.
He fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and at the Black Gate, and watched as Sauron was defeated and Barad-dûr collapsed. After the destruction of the One Ring, Legolas remained in Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation and marriage to Arwen.
She had no role in the major wars of the First Age, believing that defeating Morgoth was beyond the power of the Eldar; when Morgoth was defeated by the coming of the Valar out of the West she, having played no part in the earlier Kinslaying, was offered safe return to Valinor.
Additionally, while he was in his weakened state, Galadriel could hold him off through the power of will alone. However, if Sauron had his One Ring and faced off in a battle against Galadriel, it's unlikely that there would be much she could do.
It was said that Morgoth hated and feared the House of Fingolfin most among the Houses of the sons of Finwë, especially Fingolfin's son Turgon, as it was prophesied that his doom would come from the House of Turgon.
Gandalf pursued the monster for eight days, until they climbed to the peak of Zirakzigil, where the Balrog was forced to turn and fight, its body erupting into new flame. Here they fought for two days and nights. In the end, the Balrog was defeated and cast down, breaking the mountainside where it fell "in ruin".
Ultimately, the only being more powerful than Morgoth in his prime was Eru Ilúvatar. Only the combined effort of the Valar could stop Morgoth, and only after countless battles. Sauron might have bested his mentor under certain circumstances, but Morgoth is the greater Dark Lord by every metric.
Isildur features briefly in voiced-over flashback sequences of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War departs from Tolkien's narrative by having Sauron make Isildur into a Nazgûl or ringwraith.
3319: Númenor is drowned, and the world's shape is forever changed from flat to round. 3341: Sauron is defeated when Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, thus destroying his physical form. After this, the One Ring is lost for more than 2,000 years. The defeat of Sauron marks the end of the Second Age.
This is given a visual representation in the film. Rather than cast magic at Sauron, Galadriel opts to challenge him on the spiritual plane; she resorts to her Wrath form to penetrate Sauron's mind and break his will. She obviously succeeds, as Sauron audibly cries aloud as he flees.
She also resisted being offered the ring of power by Frodo following his vision in the mirror of Galadriel, an immense test given the ring's seductive powers. Yet Gandalf's power level exceeds even that of Galadriel, as shown by his rebirth in the Two Towers.
As the story progressed, it became increasingly clear that Gandalf's expertise in magic outclassed Saruman's. That became evident when Gandalf, as the White Wizard, overpowered Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. That said, he certainly wasn't the better wizard in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Morgoth, the first to reign terror upon Middle-earth, was more powerful than Sauron and commanded an army of dragons and Balrogs. While both Morgoth and Sauron were cunning, Morgoth's rule and terror lasted longer and his corruption spread further, making him more formidable in the Lord of the Rings universe.
Despite popular belief, the Balrog known as Durin's Bane was more powerful than Smaug in Middle-earth, being a literal, primordial demon. Gandalf's decision to fight the Balrog but not Smaug was not based on power levels, but rather on the circumstances and his mission to defeat Sauron.
Sauron does not fear Durin's Bane because essentially they had been allies back “in the olden days". Both Balrogs (all balrogs) and Sauron chose to serve Melkor/Morgoth.
