It's highly debated, but most lore suggests Galadriel could fight a Balrog, perhaps even matching it for a time with her power and Nenya, but likely couldn't defeat it without paying a tremendous price, possibly her own life, similar to Glorfindel or Ecthelion, as Balrogs are ancient, powerful spirits (Maiar) and Galadriel's power was more about preservation than raw destruction, though her being of the First Age made her exceptionally potent.
Oh, Galadriel is one of the most powerful elves of all time, and easily the most powerful still in Middle Earth by the Third Age. To the Hobbits she would have appeared as a goddess. But we're comparing her to Gandalf the White at the height of his power, and he's as far beyond her as she is beyond the Hobbits.
She was most likely the most powerful elf still in middle earth. In the Two Towers after meeting Aragorn and company, Gandalf responds to one of their questions with this: “And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.”
There are two elves credited with killing Balrogs, Ecthelion and Glorfindel, both during the fall of Gondolin, both dying in the process, and the city still fell regardless.
Q: Who would win in a fight, Tom Bombadil or a Balrog? Bombadil, easily. Remember that the Ring held absolutely zero power over him. Tom would not fight a Balrog.
In the books, Legolas actually screamed in terror when he realized that a Balrog was coming. It was the Balrogs that rounded up the elves for Morgoth, to be corrupted into orcs.
The Balrog wins. Smaug is devastating in the mortal realm, but the Balrog is essentially a god tier being masquerading in flesh. Unless Smaug killed the body and had some way of banishing/destroying the spirit, the Balrog would eventually triumph though it would be one hell of a battle. Both are rare and elite.
Why was Sauron afraid of Aragorn potentially possessing the Ring? Gandalf explains it in the Return of the King (during the council after the battle of the Pelennor fields) that Sauron would never think somebody would want to destroy the One Ring.
Balrogs have significantly more spiritual “power” than dragons. However it seems Tolkien made exceptions for special characters like Smaug and Glaurung, who were especially intelligent, capable of speeches and spells, and thus all the more villainous. But on the whole, Balrogs > Dragons in the order of being and power.
But at the Council of Elrond, Gandalf very specifically says he fought all nine. He drew four of them off when he fled northward at dawn; "This helped, a little, for there were only five, not nine, when your camp was attacked."
So there's no doupt that even a ring-less Gil- Galad would defeat Thranduil. Elrond is a descendent of all 3 High-elves clans. He is also a far descendent (1/16) of Melian, a Maia (An angel/god magical being). He would probably be way more powerful than Thranduil in many ways, especially with Vilya on his finger !
Indeed, it seems Elrond used this The Rings of Power kiss not to admit his true feelings for Galadriel but so that he could slip her a pin from his cloak.
As mentioned, Gandalf is a Maiar, basically an angel and is forbidden from using his full power unless against beings like the Balrog. His duty is to guide the people of Middle Earth against Sauron.
Sauron never loved Galadriel. He wanted to possess and use her for his own purposes.
We know that Elrond, Elendil, Gil-Galad, Cìrdan, and Isildur were enough to beat Sauron (although he had been weakened by the fall of Nùmenor). So we can replace Gil-Galad with Galadriel (the greatest elf to ever live, along with Feanor), and Cirdan with Glorfindel's near Maia-level powers.
The character who we know as “Balrog” was originally named M. Bison in Japan.
Several explanations: 1. Maiar are not all at the same power level, so Gandalf and the Balrog are not necessarily equal in power. 2. Gandalf's power is more about wisdom and compassion, while the Balrog's is more about destruction and combat.
Elrond chose the fate of the Elves and therefore the choice was presented to his children. The reason why Eldarion and his sisters (the children of Aragorn and Arwen) were born mortal was because Arwen chose mortality and therefore that fate was passed on to the rest of their line.
Saruman first appeared during a fourth phase of writing in a rough narrative outline dated August 1940. Intended to account for Gandalf's absence, it describes how a wizard titled "Saramond the White" or "Saramund the Grey", who has fallen under the influence of Sauron, lures Gandalf to his stronghold and traps him.
Sauron needed Gandalf out of the picture permanently, as he was the only enemy with the knowledge, leadership and determination to thwart him. His biggest mistake was ego. He succeeded by trickery, by his ability to deceive others. He conquered so much land that his ability to control became out of reach .
Two of them were killed in the Fall of Gondolin: Gothmog by Ecthelion, and another by Glorfindel. After the War of Wrath, some Balrogs escaped the destruction of Beleriand and hid deep underground, in inaccessible places at the roots of the earth.
In Tolkien's lore, even the mightiest dragon fire, like Smaug's, couldn't destroy the One Ring. This is because the Ring was imbued with Sauron's power and could only be unmade in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. This rule underscores the Ring's magical essence and its deep connection to its creation site.
As massive as Smaug is, he doesn't have a chance. Ghidorah wins in every category. Ghidora was the King of the Kaiju before Godzilla and in terms of Size hes certainly at least 3x as big as Smaug, tanked multiple radiation beams from Godzilla and can summon storms and electricity.