I don't know how someone could think it is random, either. I never said it was, nor was I trying to imply that. RPS isn't even random, at least after the first go. At that point you need to try to predict what your opponent will throw out next and they will do the same. There is yomi to be had.
All smash games have a level of RPS, have you not heard that comparison before? It's true for all smash games. Shield beats attack, grab beats shield, attack beats grab, and grab beats shield
This is not technically true. In past games all grabs, barring Olimar's, had armour frames meaning that grabbing actually beat attacking unless someone used an attack that puts them outside of their opponent's grab range. Likewise, shielding did not always beat attacking. Some characters in Melee and 64 are able to whittle down a shield by attacking it and hit the opponent's now-exposed body without their opponent being able to do anything at all, if not destroy the shield entirely. This is because these games have more shieldstun than Brawl and Smash 4. Only a few moves are safe to hit shields with in this game, even fewer are safe hitting a perfect shield.
It may not be quite as deep as Melee
I don't play Melee. I don't even watch it that much. Criticising Smash 4 =/= Melee elitist. Can we please get past this mentality?
but it's ridiculous to imply that the game doesn't have lots of strategic depth.
Which is good, because that was not an implication I was trying to make. As an example, I WAS implying that grabs have a lot of significance in this game due to the power of shields. But what if someone were to use their shield to bait a grab and then spotdodge out of shield thus making the opponent whiff their grab? This game has lots of strategy, just like every Smash ever.
"Guessing when to shield and grab" is a huge oversimplification
That was kind of the point. I'm not going to sit around and type up all 2000+ possibilities of a given match, I want to just talk about what is the most prevalent strategies. The current high-level meta really seems to me to be about who has the best grab games. Diddy is amazing because of his deadly grab combos that can both rack up damage and KO, he can use his bananas to set up a grab, if you shield his banana he can use his Monkey Flip to command grab your shield. Diddy, Sheik, Luigi, Ness, ZSS and Captain Falcon are all characters that are seeing varying degrees of prominence in the high-level meta. They also happen to have some of the best throw combos in the game. Call it a coincidence if you want, but I think it's indicative of what qualities make a good character in this game.
baiting
Like baiting out shields with attacks so you can grab the opponent?
approaching
With grabs.
applying pressure
Yeah, if you're Megaman abusing JC Item Tossing. For most characters, "pressure" is a pretty foreign concept in this game. Only a select few can really do this.
stage control
Via banana peels to set up grabs.
punishes
With grabs.
I could do this all day.
The game isn't literally all reads, you have to have really good fundamentals in all areas to be a high level player.
I really didn't need to be told this.
Let me lay it down for you, I like Smash 4. I play it frequently. I am going to be attending tournaments for it. I was trying to give a genuine opinion of what I believe the game's shortcomings to be, not bash it straight to Hell and say that it is trash.