I have never seen the polar express being much of a threat, only once in a game (41, NOs, LL, no tech, no bids) rnd 5-6, axis already had a big advantage, not b/c of polar express, but b/c Germany and Italy was stronger than UK+Russia, and Japan had already secured the Asian mainland, axis had an economic advantage, and so US had to build a lot of stuff to take back Alalska, but the game was already lost before this happend, instead of going straght for Moscow, Japan slowed itself down, but with big enough production advantage, it was the economic factors which decided the game, not the polar express.
And also, in LL, allies need a bid. Not so obvious that allies need a bid or the same amount in ADS. And most discussions here are with ADS setting, b/c most players who frequent aa.org uses ADS not LL.
The inferior strats which can be used sometimes, is related to lack of experience and playing skills, and a possible unbalance, not nessecarily the strat itself. Like in AAR, allies can probably win many games with a KJF strat, if axis don’t get any bids.