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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Squire James" data-source="post: 22962" data-attributes="member: 548">I think most of us agree that Celeborn, Aragorn, and Legolas would go down fast.  While I don't know much about Celeborn, I must assume Galadriel didn't marry him for his power!Treebeard would go up like a light, but afterwards land a few punishing blows that will let the Balrog know he's been in a fight.  If he had the rest of the Ents with him, well, the Balrog is in for a baaad day!Shelob is just way too vulnerable.  If Sam could wound her, the Balrog's gonna eviscerate her.I imagine the head Nazgul and King of the Dead would say goodbye to anything resembling a mortal body they may have possessed.  Since a mortal body isn't particularly necessary for them, however, the Balrog probably couldn't kill them.  Then again, I can't see them killing the Balrog either.  I figure the Balrog eventually just starts ignoring them.Saruman could probably do anything Gandalf could do if he had the guts, perhaps better.  All this doesn't matter, because Saruman's pretty spineless and wouldn't go near the Balrog.  The Balrog certainly couldn't catch him.Which leaves Elrond and Galadriel, the two biggest question marks.Very little is known about Elrond's combat prowess, though his Last Alliance days certainly suggested he had some.  My sense is that he isn't quite the stuff of epic heroes like Feanor's relatives, or even his own ancestor Beren.  My wild guess is that he would do slightly worse than Gandalf, and the Balrog might not have fallen.  Then again, maybe he could dump a river on the Balrog and have a more-or-less fair fight that he has a chance of winning.If I were judging Galadriel purely by the contents of the core Lord of the Rings trilogy, ignoring the appendices, I'd say she wouldn't stand a chance.  Other evidence definitely swings things in her favor.  According to the Return of the King appendix, Galadriel threw Dol Guldor down.  This could have meant she and her forces beseiged the castle and took it, but then it could also mean she threw the tower down!  Balrogs are pretty mean, but then so was Dol Guldor... and unlike Elrond she is one of those relatives of Feanor.  While her realm was somewhat hidden, I'm sure Sauron knew where Galadriel was.  Not only was she still alive, she frequently scried on Sauron without a Palantir and without falling to his will!  My guess would be (assuming the Dol Guldor comment is taken literally) the Balrog goes down hard, and Galadriel goes down only if the Balrog gets lucky.</blockquote>

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