IIRC, the palantír were kind of neutral, and created by elves.

Honestly, I think these techlord LOTR fans identify with the heroes, and lack the insight to realize they'd actually be the villains. They're totally Sarumans raping the forest to build an Orc army to conquer the world.

( The Robert Fripp, Toyah Wilcox Sunday Lunch cover Sympathy is just a distracting nod to growing old disgracefully )