On Nori and Dori, let's look on what we actually know of these characters in order to attest if they really are a good scout choice:
Tolkien gave little concrete characteristics to most of the dwarves, but we have a bit more of descriptions of their concepts from the movies.
What we have on them:
Dorihttp://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/DoriThe studio released the following description of Dori in the films:
"A distant relative of Thorin Oakenshield, Dori is the eldest amongst his brothers Ori and Nori. He is the strongest in The Company of Dwarves, and spends much of his time watching out for Ori, making sure he hasn’t caught a chill or gotten himself killed by Wargs or Goblins. Eternally pessimistic, with a natural tendency to expect the worst, Dori is nonetheless quite prepared to risk life and limb in order to get the job done."
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/NoriThe studio released the following description of Nori in the films:
"Perhaps the most elusive member of The Company of Thorin Oakenshield, Nori is often in trouble with the Dwarvish authorities. Deciding it might be a good time to leave town, he readily joins the Quest for the Lonely Mountain, not realizing the journey ahead may well lead him into far more trouble than he has left behind. Nobody ever quite knows what the quick-witted and wily Nori is up to, except that it's guaranteed to be dodgy and quite possibly illegal. Despite rarely seeing eye-to-eye with his brothers Dori and Ori, he is nonetheless immensely loyal and will protect them by whatever means possible."
From the start, while reading the thread, I never thought the character of Dori (as I've read of him before and seen in the movie) could make a good scout. About that studio description of him, that was released in the early production of AUJ, and I think we should really disregard it. I don't see good examples to support the statement that he's "the strongest in the company", mainly with the comparison of Dwalin and Thorin kicking ass throughout the films. There's no relevant scene showing his supposed physical might, heck he doesn't even
look stronger than the other dwarves, but I'm not saying he's weak either.
Even though he's older and thus
probably more experienced and wiser than his brothers, Dori's main trait, beyond his pessimism, is being protective of others. In the book he's described as helping Bilbo and getting him out of harm's way. In the film this situation is changed a bit as he's shown protective of his little brother Ori, not Bilbo. But still, more than once PJ makes reference to his role in the book with lines like "I thought he was with Dori!", depicting like it's his responsability to care for the hobbit. There's another relevant trait of Dori, he's shown as being
slower than the other dwarves, a trait that doesn't fit a scout at all, and which makes sense given his age.
It's mentioned in the film (and I think in the book too) that many of those characters aren't warriors, they are miners, tinkers, merchants, toy-makers and that there are only a few warriors amongst them, and I don't think Dori is one. If you ask me, he looks like a distinguished old fellow playing an artisan or merchant role in dwarven society, that's my interpretation of his general appearance and demeanor.
Still, I don't think that that's necessarily reason enough to get off with him as a scout, just that he should not be the lead scout, but that he should play the guardian role of the duo, as befits his protective personality
On Nori, well now
there's a good one, it's stated in his movie profile concept that Nori is a shady dwarf, like a dwarven rogue, I should think. He's elusive and quick-witted, both traits that befit a scout. I would dare say that he's also wuick of pace, a good characteristic to get out of trouble when running from authorities. I believe Nori should be the lead scout using his two knives as in this poster art:
I really like the dwarven regal armours as well @LordDainIronFoot but, as you well said, they don't fit a scout concept. I for one wouldn't like to see these heroes wearing such heavy armor, at least not as scouts.
I hope that you guys like my input.
