Actually in terms of battle sense he is. I mean during a fight, not preparing for a war or taking 60 years to see a plan come to fruition, that isn't really 'smart' just patient.he is not smarter than Madara..
But in terms of battle sense and intelligence Madara isn't that good at all, I mean he can't figure out ways to counter alot of stuff. Minato beat him, Danzo's henchman figured out a way to hit him, Konan almost beat him. So yeah in the heat of battle I just don't see him coming up with great strategies like Minato and Itachi.
Same goes for Shikamaru and Shikaku, they are great tacticians outside of battle but they require too much time to sit and think about what they plan on doing, while Itachi and Minato come up with awesome strategies within seconds.
So in terms of battle intelligence Itachi and Minato are the best. You can argue this if you want to but not about Madara, Shikamaru, or Shikaku, they plan too slowly.