Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron. With the Ring, he could control the power of all the other Rings, and thus he was significantly more powerful after its creation than before; but by binding his power within the Ring, Sauron became dependent on it.
Hence, with the Power of the One Ring to strengthen him, Sauron would have been invincible. No one would have been able to raise an army to defy him. Even without the One Ring he was able to master or dominate the wills of many tens of thousands of Men and Orcs at the end of the Third Age.
Indeed, at one point in the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, Saruman explicitly states of Sauron that 'he cannot yet take physical form' (though nothing comparable to this appears in the book).
Yes. Sauron's forces were many times greater than the West's. Assuming Sauron's strategy would have been the same without knowledge of the Ring being found then he would eventually overcome the resistance.
It was part of Sauron's scheme to ensnare and enslave the users of all the rings of power and so control the Noldor of Middle-earth. Sauron planned for the domination of all of Middle-earth and he needed/wanted to control the Elves to complete this plan. This was the reason for the forging of the One Ring.
The first is that Bilbo is a hobbit, and as such, is particularly difficult to manipulate or corrupt. Hobbits have a natural resistance to the influence of the ring, because they are fully content in their simple lives and have no desires for power or war.
In the spiritual world, beings are invisible to those in the physical world. This is why Isildur, Bilbo, and Frodo become invisible when they wear the Ring—because they are no longer in the physical world. As Olsen said, Sauron does not have a real body, so he is not affected in the same way.
Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).
Why did the elven kingdoms resist Sauron at the end of the Third Age? They knew that if the one ring was destroyed, their kingdoms would fade and they would have to leave. If the one ring wasn't destroyed, Sauron would destroy their kingdoms and they would have to leave (if they wanted to live).
Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron. With the Ring, he could control the power of all the other Rings, and thus he was significantly more powerful after its creation than before; but by binding his power within the Ring, Sauron became dependent on it.
In The Lord of the Rings, it is said that had Galadriel chosen to use her powers for evil instead of good, she would have been even more destructive and terrifying than Sauron himself. Galadriel was the greatest and most powerful of all Elves in Middle Earth in the Third Age.
Sauron's deepest fear was that Aragorn would use the Ring against him. With its powers of domination, Aragorn could comfortably take over the entirety of Sauron's dark army. Though this would eventually corrupt Aragorn, it would allow him to destroy Sauron and take his place.
Sauron was the most powerful of the Maiar—primordial spirits created to help the Valar first shape the World. His original name was Mairon, which means "the Admirable," and as an immortal spirit born before the world's creation, he was able to perceive the Creator Eru Ilúvatar directly.
As for Sam, his resistance likely has to do with his innate goodness and loyalty. His love for Frodo helped him to overcome the pull of the Ring and his inner pureness was never fully pierced by the Ring.
While incredibly intelligent and powerful, Sauron's greatest weakness was his arrogance. He constantly underestimated the power of his enemies, which often led to his plans being thwarted and his armies defeated.
While the previous 19 rings were crafted with the help of the Elves, the final ring, the 'One Ring to rule them all,' was crafted by Sauron alone; with the ability to dominate the other rings, the One Ring was made with some of Sauron's own power, in order to make it more powerful.
God is the most powerful entity in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe. The Elvish name for him is actually Eru Ilúvatar, meaning “the one, father of all.” So the question becomes: Who is the second-most powerful being? Originally, it was Melkor, “he who arises in might,” the most powerful of the Ainur (or angels).
All other men in the trilogy, even the underestimated and underappreciated Faramir, and his mighty brother Boromir, fall short of Aragorn's heroism. That is why Aragorn is the only one who could challenge Sauron in the Palantir, and win.
Regardless, Glorfindel remains one of the strongest characters in The Lord of the Rings, with powers similar to that of the Maiar after being, essentially, brought back from the dead to aid in the Third Age and the War of the Rings.
Because of their intense love of the earth, the Ring does not sense hobbits as a threat, which is why they were able to be overlooked and complete the quest.
So why didn't he do anything about it? When Frodo finally arrived at the lands of Mordor, Sauron likely knew about his presence. He was well aware that someone was traveling with his One Ring and also that a Hobbit was found creeping through his home, so it would seem obvious to take this as a major concern.
With all this time, it seems Sauron would have found the Ring. However, the simplest as to why he didn't: Sauron had no way of locating his Ring. Because the Nazgûl track Frodo, and the Eye of Sauron "sees" him when he wears the Ring, some presume that Sauron has some way of tracking it.
It's a constant reminder to Aragorn of his family history; his hesitation to take the ring from Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is a direct result of Isildur's corruption. Although Boromir ultimately falls victim to the seductive nature of the ring, Aragorn is able to defy his family history and resist his urges.
The Fellowship can't ride eagles to Mordor because of the giant, flying snake-dragon monsters ridden by One-Ring-sensing warrior kings and their half-mile-wide aura of fear.
Frodo had an innocent character. The innocence made him more immune to the ill-effects of the ring. Frodo did not lust for power. Gandalf and others use power, so they can easily be deceived by it.