I personally think that both Brawl and Tekken are amazing in their own rights and it's like comparing apples and oranges. They have different qualities, and while both fruits, people will pick their favorite. You cannot define a "better" or even a "more competative" without clear criteria for what makes a game better, or more competative.
I personally think Brawl is the best game of all fighters out there hands down because Sub-Space Emissary ***** THE BALLS off of every other fighter's single player, although Soul Caliber 2 gives it a run for it's money (that was seriously enticing IMO)
I agree that Smash's options are limited, but that is made up for with superior movement options, since we can exist in the air, and control our direction while airborn, making Smash less footsies, and more spacing oriented.
Once you land a hit, unless the opponent's name is Metaknight, you are generally in advantage, and can land follow-up hits fairly well by covering the right options and making the right reads, which I feel is far better to watch than a combo in any fighter, simply because at the end of the damage string, you realize it was a mental victory over the opponent as opposed to a technical one.
I can appreciate that traditional fighters have their poking and zoning games which incorporates the mental battle, and then the combos, which incorporates the technical aspect, bringing in the best of both worlds, as supposed to catering mostly to the reading parts of the game; however it would clearly be a mistake to say that the game of Smash doesn't utilize technical techniques.
Breversing is still not used correctly in most matches today, and it utilizes the oh, so loved half and quarter circle inputs. Pivoting Dtilts and Jabs are FREQUENTLY the best option in the game, but many people don't do this because of the technical requirments (not that it's especially technical, but it's not bad.) Then, there are just characters who have technical inputs.
Also, due to the hitbox design system in this game, many moves have sweetspots and sourspots, requiring spacing and timing to play a MAJOR factor in offense.
I would say that considering the number of mistakes people make, Brawl is pretty technical. One could argue that the (IMO flawed) buffering system which is designed to make the game easier in actuality can hinder a player because it can cause an incorrect action which can often be more harmful than simply doing nothing. For example, a shield drop dtilt while under shield pressure might accidentally come out as a spot dodge.
I also dislike automatic powershielding, especially as a Marth player.
Still, I think Brawl does suitably reward aggression for the aggressive characters, except against MK, and I think MK is pretty broken.
