Tell me you didn't read or watch LotR by not telling you read/watched it lmfao.
1) It's Gandalf, not Gandolf.
2) He never "showed up last minute to a battle and saved the main character".
3) He is a Maia, an angelic being basically. He can't die. His mortal shell was destroyed but got sent back by the Valar.
Him dying in Moria was a perfect scene and his return was both surprising, well explained and a one-time thing.
I'm a pretty avid fan of LoTR. And know what the Valar and Maia are. I post here by phone you know the deal.
And yes he did. He was at the Battle of helms deep. Are you saying Legolas and Gimli are not main characters? Frodo is not the only PoV in LoTR my guy.
And this is not the goddamn point. The point is, Gandalf was not the only fakeout death in LoTR. Faramir is too. Frodo "dies" like 3 times.
There are essentially zero major casualties in the actual fellowship outside of Boromir. Every person you mention save of Boromir and Theoden are essentially antagonists. Really? Gollum? Saruman? Grima? NOBODY else major in 3 books/3 films/whatever actually dies and has consequences. The fodder in the story take 99% of the damage.
Again. You are reading OP for the wrong reasons.