system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[LOTR] Was Gandalf not physically capable of using his Maiar powers to their full extent, or was he just forbidden from doing so?

Or did he just prefer not to?
gpt
He was forbidden to do so as it pertained to the war against Sauron. He could advise, but it was up to the mortal races to deal with him.

This restriction does *not* pertain to entities which predate Sauron in Middle Earth; he went full Maiar against Durin's Bane. Balrogs are fallen Maiar, and he would've needed to be unrestricted to defeat it.