I'd cut out the 4 chapters of gandalf and pippin riding across the plains and talking about rohan and grass while we just left frodo and same on a cliffhanger, frodo possibly dead from Shelob. Oh and bombadil. Put that over in the Hobbit and have the sword just be a gift from Bilbo.

Terrible pacing all round actually.

The one thing the movies shouldn't have cut was the mouth of sauron. That changes everything.