Oh god dammit, you do realize THERE IS NO REDEMPTION FOR BALROGS...
Tolkien wrote the simalarion like Christianity, morgoth is essentially the devil, balrogs are fallen angels.
Fallen Angels CANNOT be redeemed, they chose to fall and thus as much as people hope, they can't ever redeem themselves for their rebellion.
This, Balrogs also can't do this.
So it's utterly laughable a balrog can go morally grey. Also orks fighting against both sides? I don't think that ever happened besides then deciding they want to eat each other. They at cannon fodder and they know it. So they don't give a fuck.
Also this is utterly terrifying because this is a balrog that has not been weakened by time, thus is still at the prime of its power. Which means Gandalf can't do shit to it without casting off his mortal coil and hopping Eru sends him Back as the White.
Also pirate asshole has to be getting help from somewhere. I refuse to believe our captains...wait...well...fuck...guess they are that incompetent since we just finished trainning them.
*sighs*
This is kind of a problem in your quest cyber, you set the DC's way high and Escalate Way to much. At this point in not sure what else is comming besides the seven kingdoms tearing themselves apart and us hunking down because fuck westero's.
Also then there's the others and the winter wights comming down, we either need volcanic glass arrows to cut down the white walkers for good, or we're getting screwed over by every other faction.
Our guys keep on fucking running away when we need them to be where they are most needed (grey company...the rangers on the ducking wall screwing us over!!! Our fleet captains fucking up to allow that bastard to still keep raiding us, etc.)
I'm just worn down by the constant escalation.
Now we have a big ass threat in the form of a forsaken balrog who is on the chopping block when the world comes to a end along with its kin and morgoth when eru decides to come down and lay down the lay a final time.