: : : I am sure that you know the difference between the Balrogs and Sauron, Saruman, and Morgoth (and who knows what else)... That is, Balrogs suistained their power to fight, rather than investing it to command - unlike the mentioned characters. This hints that they probably didn't thrive on commanding others, but instead on dealing pain and death.
: : : This would be my answer and reminder, any comments are acceptable.

: I have to disagree, Balrogs were the followers of Morgoth true, but so was Sauron who was also a maia. Also what about Gothmog? He was the lord of Balrogs and Captain of the Tower. That would seem to prove that Balrogs could and would lead orcs and other things.

In Gothmogs case, I would say that he would prefer to kill than to command. All Balrogs were tough foes because their only talent (if it can be called so) is in fighting - whereas Sauron, Saruman, and Morgoth all had skills in forgery, spellcasting and other areas, but not much in fighting. Gothmog was sutable to be given leadership of the Balrogs because it would be most acceptable to the Balrogs that their commander was like them. Also keep in mind that Gothmog was more powerful than the average Balrog, so he probably used some of this power in a sense of command. Not to mention that Balrogs took a form that would be benifitial in fighting, as opposed to commanding.

Maedhros