I like battles that are a mix of both, but still a bit more combat-oriented...
Battles where sides just exchange whoever can launch the most overpowered, devastating, unfathomably destructive moves over and over are great, but they can get a bit excessive in my opinion. Whereas, sometimes the brainy battles are a bit TOO complex or hard to follow (or even boring).
I like battles that are a good mix of combat prowess and strategic implementation, but aren't just a one-hit-kill showoff, etc. Two good examples of this to me are:
1. The beginning of Sasuke vs. Killer Bee, before Sasuke whipped out his MS. Killer Bee destroyed Sasuke, yes, but it's not because Bee was spamming jutsu or Eight-Tails stuff; it was because Bee was genuinely BETTER than Sasuke at swordfighting. There was a lot of fluidity about that part of the fight that I liked.
2. Zabuza vs. Team 7 (the first time). Zabuza trapped Kakashi pretty wittingly, forcing Naruto and Sasuke to work together to overcome the adversity. Sasuke didn't have the Sharingan, so he couldn't spam; and the two of them came up with an excellent strategy to free Kakashi from Zabuza. Great fight, to me.
Just my thoughts. =]