Yes, but the issue I have with 3- and 4-handed is that the player has far less control over things. I can't play a card in hopes that you will pair it so I can make three-of-a-kind (a "pair royal" to purists) or play a sequential card hoping to extend a run (straight) that gets started because another player or two get to go in between. And only being able to put one card in the crib rather than two just never felt right, you can't put a pair or a 7-8 for example in your own crib that way. The game becomes more luck than strategy when locked into these things, although the mechanics and scoring are the same.
Somehow I think our sims would enjoy it, though.
My dad and I play cut-throat in the sense that we will pounce on unclaimed points if one of us makes a mistake in scoring and misses something, but we would never cheat or be unfair. We might try to distract each other ("hey, what is that outside of the window?") when adding up the points for a complicated hand or if a run (straight) is formed during play, but that's just part of the fun for us. :)