From what I understand of Cataclysm’s background the zombies are actually just dead corpses being used as puppets by some sort of extra-dimensional goo for some unknown reason, and as far as I know the goo is only smart enough to move the bodies so that they can chase after and possible kill any living beings, which is why they smash down doors instead of opening them, among other things.
My suggestion implies that maybe, just maybe, the goo that most people know and all of us hate is just one species, what if there’s another species of goo, one that’s smart enough to learn, or has the ability to access some of it’s hosts memories? I’m not talking about something as smart as a normal human (except maybe in very rare cases), but something smart enough to make several anti-zombie tricks ineffective (a closed door doesn’t really slow down something that knows how to open it), something that can actually make judgement calls (if it sees a bunch of normal zombies getting mowed down by gun fire or blown up by mines every time they go down a certain path, it’ll try to find another path to its potential prey), something smart enough to know that sticks and stones can break bones, and prey with broken bones is easier to catch.
They way I see it these smart zombies will be somewhat uncommon, but common enough to take into consideration. Also, if players don’t like the idea of smart zombies there can be an option to turn them off, separate from the classic zombies option of course.
