I have a maltese. He's adorable. Don't know if poodles are smarter, but I would say there are many other factors like the individual dog, the quality of food, the time owner spends with him/her, genetics, environment etc. I don't think my dog is dumb but not super smart either, sometimes he will do things that appear really smart (like he knows to go to his carrier on command because he likes to go out), or do things that seem retarded (like he likes to bite his own tail fur, maybe he's bored).

The most noticeable thing about a dog is his/her personality, not intelligence. If you're lucky you will have a pleasant sociable dog (but the owner has to play a part to socialize the dog too), and if unlucky you could end up with an unfriendly jealous dog. Sometimes dogs might turn out like that because of some traumatic experience in their past, or again, it's genes. I know 3 Maltese dogs who are siblings, and they can be quite unsociable, but my maltese is very friendly.

The pro of having maltese is this breed does not shed fur, so they are clean and don't cause allergies. Not sure about toy poodle. The other thing, poodles have a kind of 'official' hair cut (which I think looks dumb), some poodle owners prefer it (or maybe are under pressure to cut like that), but if you cut their hair differently they can look much cuter in my opinion.

One general tip for new dog owners, don't assume a dog thinks like a human, in many ways they see the world differently, so read some books to understand dog behaviour and how to train your dog. Look for 2 books called "Before you get your puppy" and "After you get your puppy", good starting points.