The scenery on a model's base never counts as In The Way - this is a good thing, otherwise, filthy players could build fences around all of their models and have them completely obscured.
However, SBG uses true LOS. According to the rules, if you can only see the Rock then you can't see Gollum and you can't shoot at him. Similarly, Groblog being up on that column does give him the disadvantage that he's easier to see. He does not 'count' as if he's on the ground, he is where he is. This leads to some competitive players cutting him off the column and putting him on the ground.
That's the rules as written. However, thankfully most people are a little more lenient with this, and will often play that Groblog 'counts' as being the height of a normal goblin, most reasonable players would agree with this.
However, the reality is that this is one of those rules queries that people feel very passionate about but rarely has any effect. I've played loads of games against Gollum and never had the situation where I can only see his rock. Similarly, I've never been in a situation where I could ONLY see Groblog because of his rock, there's normally a LOS through to some part of his rock (i.e. where he WOULD be standing if he were on the ground) so it's not an issue. I think this issue gets theorised about far more than it actually comes up in game.
I go to an awful lot of tournaments with highly competitive players and I've never been frustrated by this issue in a game, the angles simply haven't lined up to make it a problem and they rarely will.
I modelled my eagles onto the top of trees because they looked cool and it represents the end of An Unexpected Journey. It means that they will almost never benefit from ITW tests but I'm alright with that because they're my models and I like the way they look. Ultimately, it's your hobby, you have to choose how you want to play it, my advice would be that these are expensive models and that you should choose the poses that you like the most and pose your models in the way that you think looks coolest and will most inspire you to paint them well. How they will perform in the game never has the slightest bearing in how I paint/model my miniatures and I find that's the healthiest attitude to have.
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