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[Middle-Earth: Shadow of War] Were the actions of Talion even beneficial in the end?

Talion kept back the armies of Mordor for around 50 years IIRC before finally falling and becoming a full Ringwraith at around the time the books take place.

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Now my question is: If he hadn't held Mordor back, wouldn't that have resulted in a direct war between Mordor and Gondor? Gondor was a falling kingdom during the War of the Ring, so Gondor 50 years before that would have been a stronger opponent against Mordor. The armies of Mordor also would have had much less time to grow. 

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Plus Saruman, while maybe already being corrupted wouldn't have been able to build his army until then, so it would have been Gondor and Rohan against Sauron. Maybe I am viewing the period wrong and Sauron never planned on attacking Gondor earlier, but if that was the case, it also didn't really matter than Talion held on to Minas Ithil.
gpt
Assuming we're trying to blend Shadow of Mordor/War lore into actual canon, Talion's actions were beneficial for multiple reasons. 

> If he hadn't held Mordor back, wouldn't that have resulted in a direct war between Mordor and Gondor?

I think the game implies that Mordor would've attacked Gondor earlier, and that Talion's actions gave Gondor more time to prepare. 

> Gondor was a falling kingdom during the War of the Ring, so Gondor 50 years before that would have been a stronger opponent against Mordor.

Not necessarily. Denethor was actually a pretty good ruler until paranoia and despair got him in the end. Plus, places like the Rammas Echor, Pelagir, and Cair Andros had been fortified during Ecthelion and Denethor's rule. And also remember that Gondor's forces in the prelude to the War of the Ring were led by Boromir, who by all accounts was an awesome general. 

>  The armies of Mordor also would have had much less time to grow.

Once again, not necessarily. Talion had effectively created a civil war within Mordor during this time period. Sauron was losing soldiers to Talion even as he was trying to grow Mordor's power. And during this time, Aragorn was operating as Thorongil in the south and east of Middle Earth. One of his biggest contributions was leading a surprise assault on Umbar, which resulted in the destruction of much of Umbar's fleet and the death of the Lord of Umbar. 

> Plus Saruman, while maybe already being corrupted wouldn't have been able to build his army until then, so it would have been Gondor and Rohan against Sauron.

This is correct. Isengard would've been a non-factor, and Rohan would've been able to commit its full strength to Gondor (which is estimated at around 12,000 men, as opposed to the 6,000 Theoden sent). However, one of the big problems is that Sauron's armies were huge, and Mordor itself was nigh impossible to assault. With the Elves fading, winning a conventional military victory against Sauron was pretty much out of the question by the end of the Third Age. 

> it also didn't really matter than Talion held on to Minas Ithil.

One of the biggest things you have to remember is that the only way to defeat Sauron was by destroying the One Ring. And at that point in the timeline, the One Ring hadn't been "officially" discovered. Bilbo had it, but neither he nor anyone else knew what it was. Gandalf didn't figure it out until just before the War of the Ring. Assuming Sauron wages his war on Middle Earth earlier, the One Ring remains with Bilbo in the Shire until the Shire is inevitably destroyed, and then Sauron reclaims it, and Middle Earth is his to dominate.