[Jack000]

You can make the same argument for cats, dogs and other mammals, which do have embodied intelligence but not the skills we typically associate with general intelligence (language, deductive reasoning, math, etc). Raw neuron count is only loosely associated with intelligence, which is highly variable even between individual humans with nearly equivalent neurons.

Our brains are made of tiny little animals because that's just how life evolved on this planet. It's not a given that this is the best or even a good way to approach the problem.

[CuriouslyC]

Raw neuron count is only loosely associated with abstract problem solving intelligence. A cat's neural network is incredibly well optimized for things that cats care about.

Brains are very well optimized for computation/energy (while also being self replicating and self repairing), the tasks researchers care about just aren't the ones evolution cares about.