Were they really THAT weak of shinobi? I mean I think they were pretty strong if they were still alive and worked at it they would be strong as hell. Why did they loses so easily?
They were the best sound had to offer. If they were orochimaru's personal guards, i personally cant see them as weak. especially if they were able to errect a barrier Leaf Anbu couldn't penetrate. Add to that their respective bloodlines... they were great shinobi. They lost only because killing off any of the gennin would've been detrimental to the story later on. Well, except neji. he really isnt that important.
They didnt lose easily. The Konoha team that they fought... all of them had to damn near create a new move or do something extremely intelligent to stop the sound from killing them. They were all overpowered and won thorough battle intelligence, not raw strength. The Raw Strength of the Sound 4 was much greater than the 4 Shinobi they fought.