Steve Rogers wasn't nearly as smart as someone like Bruce Banner or Tony Stark, but he possessed a different kind of intelligence that was just as valuable. As Captain America, he knew how to properly weigh a situation, read the people involved in it, and come up with an appropriate plan of action. Unbound by rigid thinking, he became adaptable in the field.
Cap was always a smart guy, long before he decided to enlist in the army to fight for his country. He knew when to sit down, when to speak up, when to use his fists to solve a problem, and when to rely on his brain. This made him not only an excellent leader but a man with wisdom beyond his age. With this wisdom, Steve made some extremely smart decisions during his run as Cap in the MCU.
Standing Up To His Bullies
Despite his frail physique, Steve Rogers had the heart of a champion, and he wasn't about to let anything stand in his way. He defied all the odds, and every naysayer in the book to achieve his goals. That also meant standing up to those who tried to beat him down and pick on him because of his size.
Cap represented the need for people to stand up to their bullies, rather than back down, or hide in fear. Even though he was no match for the much larger hooligans who tormented him, he refused to show any fear to them and stood his ground to demoralize them.
Enlisting In The Army
Had Steve Rogers never bothered to try to enlist in the army, Captain America would never have been born. The results would have been disastrous, as the evil egomaniacal Red Skull and HYDRA would probably have succeeded in their plans. By all accounts, the odds were against Steve, right from the start.
He wasn't soldier material, but his courage and intelligence offered up alternatives to winning victories. This quickly came to the attention of Dr. Abraham Erskine, who co-led the Super Soldier program, overhearing a conversation between Steve and Buck that showcased Steve's fearlessness and kindness. In Steve, he saw a man worthy of the mantle of Captain America.
Jumping On The Dummy Grenade
Steve managed to prove himself several times throughout his basic army training, but it still wasn't enough to convince the gruff and pessimistic Colonel Phillips. He decided to shake things up a bit by yanking the pin on a dummy grenade and tossing it into the middle of a bunch of army soldiers to see what they would do.
Every single one of them scattered, except for Steve Rogers, who immediately jumped on top of it without hesitation. He had no idea if the grenade was live yet he was prepared to sacrifice himself to save his fellow soldiers by muffling the explosion. This was what finally sealed the decision to put him into the Super Soldier program.
Going Through With The Super Soldier Treatment
Steve wanted nothing more than to serve his country, just like every one of his fellow soldiers, so when he was offered the chance to become an enhanced super-soldier, he decided to take it. The experiment was dangerous, without a guaranteed chance of success yet he bravely faced the odds.
Had Steve tried to make it on his own steam, there's no telling how far he would have made it on the front lines, if at all. The decision to become a super-soldier would end up giving him the powers he needed to go up against HYDRA and the Red Skull. Thanks to his decision, he was able to prevent a catastrophe from taking place.
Leading The Rescue Mission Behind Enemy Lines
When Bucky and his team were captured by the Red Skull's forces and locked up 30 miles behind heavily fortified enemy lines, Steve decided to launch a one-man rescue mission. Not only did he successfully infiltrate the HYDRA stronghold and rescue Bucky and the soldiers, but he also led them back to friendly territory.
This was an extremely smart decision, for several reasons. First, it freed a large unit of extremely capable and talented soldiers who could turn their efforts back to winning the war. Second, it provided a major boost for overall troop morale. And third, it gave the Red Skull reason to pause, and realize that his plans for world domination were not fool-proof.
Crashing The Red Skull's Plane
The final act of Captain America: The First Avenger saw Steve forced with a grueling decision - either crash the Red Skull's plane into the ice, or watch as its heavy WMDs destroyed New York City. In so doing, he'd have to give up the one thing he held most dear in the world - Peggy Carter.
Had Steve hesitated for even a moment, the results would have been disastrous. Furthermore, he would not have been around for the multiple crises Earth would face nearly 70 years into the future, including Thanos. His act of self-sacrifice saved millions of people, multiple times over.
Destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.
When it became clear that HYDRA had managed to infect S.H.I.E.L.D. and compromise it from within, Steve took a scorched earth approach to the situation. Rather than try to weed out HYDRA's influence and separate it from S.H.I.E.L.D., he decided to end them both to put a stop to the former's plans.
Nick Fury resisted the idea at first, even while acknowledging the threat HYDRA posed. It took the combined vote of Cap, Falcon, Black Widow, and Maria Hill to convince him it was the right course of action. If they hadn't, HYDRA might have slipped through their fingers, and lived to fight another day.
Refusing To Sign The Sokovia Accords
After the horrific incident at Sokovia, courtesy of adapted comic book supervillain Ultron, and a series of unfortunate accidents in the field, the world's governments became paranoid over the amount of freedom the Avengers had to operate. This created a schism inside the group, with half thinking they needed oversight, while the other half, led by Captain America, thought the opposite.
When push came to shove, Steve and several members of the Avengers refused to sign the Accords. He understood that the larger picture with greater government oversight and involvement always leads to worse outcomes. He felt that the Avengers knew best how to handle their affairs.
Moving The Team To Wakanda
When Thanos' forces made their big push on Earth to recover the Mind Stone from Vision, it became clear that they needed to fortify themselves somewhere. If they stayed out in the open on their own, then they would eventually get picked off one by one by Thanos' lieutenants.
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Steve moved the team to Wakanda, where he was already on good terms with T'Challa. With Wakandan technology at their side, they were able to mount a successful defense against enemy forces. Unfortunately, the arrival of Thanos turned the tide, allowing the villain to achieve his goal of wiping out half the universe's inhabitants.
Staying In The Past With Peggy
This was perhaps Steve Rogers' smartest decision of all. After falling in love with the wise and iconic Peggy Carter during the events of WWII, he was forced to abandon his life with her to save New York City from destruction. He awoke from his frozen tomb decades later, having missed his chance to find true peace and happiness.
When the Avengers and their fellow heroes managed to reverse Thanos' finger-snap by utilizing Ant-Man's quantum tunneling technology, he used it as an excuse to set the past right. Ultimately, he remained in it There, he was reunited with Peggy Carter, and lived out his days with her, exactly as it should have been.