Hi Blue! Thank you for having brought your suggestions here, in the official forum. Even though our opinions may differ, this topic could be an interesting occasion to discuss and maybe even to come up with a final compromise/concept. Let's see how the thread is developed.
As I anticipated at the beginning, my personal opinions differ consistently from yours here, speaking about Gandalf. Without embarking on long disquisitions, I will address the major problematics and relevant aspects. Given the own particularities of the hero involved, I'm not in favour of any significant change regarding Gandalf; that is, very little is to be overhauled when we deal with conceptual abilities or his very role. Whenever similar proposals were presented, I and the other Moderators always followed a precise line, with which I obviously and thoroughly agree.
Gandalf's concept has been extremely
iconic since the very first chapter of the BFME series. The embodiment of the hegemonic hero by definition: sensational abilities combined with a very effective role in the faction. Powers that perfectly match with his mass-slayer nature. Thus it follows that there is not much left to add to his phenomenal concept, even in the multicoloured universe of the Edain Mod. I would say it's quite imperative that his current concept (and characterisation) be maintained as it is now (simple yet enough unique and effective), lest superfluous things be implemented without taking into consideration the ever-present boundaries of the game. Not because it's absolutely forbidden to propose new ideas, but rather for the fact that all the previously-mentioned premises suggest not to proceed that way.
Furthermore, I will also tell you why I think a stance system would be logical for heroes as Sauron and Galadriel, but not when it comes to Gandalf. Contrary to the Dark Lord and the Lady of Light, the Grey Wizard is one of the most active heroes in the game; he's therefore meant to battle with enemies directly in the frontline, and so his dynamic role well justifies the presence of such mighty abilities (just think about Word of Power). On the other hand, Sauron and Galadriel rely (as leaders) on supportive properties, with the purpose of supporting their troops and structures (their respective realms) from afar; it's then in this particular context that I agree that they could have the possibility to shift momentarily to a more aggressive characterisation (a stance that enables multiple new abilities). But on Gandalf's side, I don't personally see any viable scope for creating a digression from his paramount dynamic nature, as all his abilities already suffice to make him unique and conceptually complete.
But I can't deny that the Narya issue is something that has been puzzling me for quite some time; your proposal is thus quite tempting under that aspect. One side of me respects the customary proposition that wants Círdan to wield the Ring of Fire in the game (so that all the Three are available only to the two Elven factions), while the other just kicks against the idea of taking Narya away from his true owner during the War of the Ring: Mithrandir. Also, I always expressed myself in favour of particular stance systems for the greatest heroes of each faction; if not a structured system, at least a smart feature. Said that, I think we could try to come up with possible alternatives that imply the return of Narya to Gandalf (as the lore would demand) or other clever mechanics, provided that they strictly occupy a secondary position in the hero's concept.
Concerning Gandalf's current performance in the game, it's fair to say that most of the complaints I read are mainly focused on his abilities' effectiveness, instead of his conceptual properties. The fixing of the bug that affected the scaling of Magic improved things a bit, but I too admit it's still not enough. Henceforth, as I already replied to akin questions, there is something you ought to know: in the forthcoming 4.5 patch, Gandalf will be given a boost and so he will kind of retrieve his past formidable potential we are all fond of. I can't reveal much more, but may you be sure that a lot will change in this perspective as well (I tested it myself).
Hey, they're changing Galadriel to be more canonical, why not the G-man?
Also, I have heard that "OMG, balance, complex, not needed, etc." Look, ET is in the process of changing Galadriel and Cirdan to be more canonical and it is only fair that Gandalf be more canonical as well.
A just clarification: that concept of Galadriel is a proper concept/proposal of mine. The Edain Team has never stated anything official about it, nor do I know whether the proposal has been accepted or rejected (or if they are still pondering what to do). It's thus incorrect to state that they are going to implement those suggestions, even if you don't imagine how I wish they did. The only thing we can do for now is continuing to support it in every way possible. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that you deem it worthy of being compared to Sauron (I exactly thought about him in the conceiving of the ideas) or to Gandalf