Yes, they do require their fair bit of strategy. Pokemon have actual competitive viable movesets, and the AI is also a bit smarter. The trainers in the PWT also have competitively viable Pokemon, while those in the Battle Subway use Pokemon like we do in our playthroughs (not the anything will work because its ingame kind, though)
Source: Experience, the Bulbapedia pages for the trainers PWT and Battle Subway teams, and the fact that I'm actually playing B2 currently
Hope I helped :)