The last Gandalf you propose are not simple or better for the Shadow side.
Gandalf doesn't need to make the FP player reconcile, but he will increase the number of cards in your hand for the Shadow side (10 cards is great when you play swarm!).
The problem is that he either needs to play Dwarves directly from deck, or needs to cycle well for the FP side (preferrably at Fellowship phase). One or the other, otherwise won't work well enough to set up the Company before disappearing at site 5, which is his main role.
That's why I proposed the "reconcile or play a spell" trigger, because though you wouldn't draw in Fellowship phase, it'd make you draw tons in your turn while keeping your 10-cards hand effect in your opponent's. It'd keep both drawing effects (for FP and Shadow) inside the same skill, which is important considering the scarceness of available card room: only 4 total lines for 2 skills (the
Glamdring replay and the drawing engine), since the rest are already spent in other needs (1 for
Wise, 1 for
loretext and 1 for the cost reduction).
Another possibility is to simply ditch the need of drawing for your FP side, while keeping the skill solely for the Shadow. Said otherwise, play Dwarves directly from deck (and keep your skill with only the "reconcile" trigger). That also erases the need of a cost reduction, freeing more room. Something like this:
•Gandalf, Leader of Dwarves
Companion • Wizard
Strength 7 Vitality 4
Wise.Each time you reconcile, you may add a doubt to draw 2 cards.
Fellowship: Discard 2
cards from hand to play a weapon from your discard pile
or a Dwarf companion from your draw deck."You do know my name... I am Gandalf."Costs
so you can start him with Thorin (since the Dwarf playing is very costly). The Fellowship skill will play Dwarf companions from deck at the early sites, and recover
Glamdring/other weapons at 5 or onwards, and is limited to 1 per turn most of the times by its steep cost (rarely you'll have 4
cards to ditch in a single turn, or 6).
Finally, your skill to have 10 cards when playing Shadow is not only preserved, but also boosted by the cycling you'll get by discarding 2*X
cards! This is now my favorite version of all my proposals.
Here's a new proposition (without an easy way to start with Balin).
•Gandalf, Leader of Dwarves
Companion • Wizard
Strength 7 Vitality 4
Wise.
Each time you reconcile, you may add a doubt to draw 2 cards.
Maneuver: Remove 2 events from the game in your discard pile to play a skirmish event from your discard pile.
"You do know my name... I am Gandalf."
You said it right, it'll create big problems with the Balin pack. The Maneuver skill is useless if not changed to Skirmish, and then will be too powerful at the late game (unless a limit is added, but there's no room for it).
And still lacks a way to cycle well enough for your FP side, or to play Dwarves directly from deck. And to recover
Glamdring, which is what killed the original Leader of Dwarves in Gemp.
The idea of removing FP cards from discard pile to pay a special ability or replay an event is good, but I'd let it for the new Supplementary Packs only (as including it in a Main deck card like Gandalf will force that mechanic to be included in formats/packs that had no interaction and thus no balance needed with it,
like Moria Swarm which already has a hard time defeating the FP).