I don't think they want to mount anything on the walls, since it's a rental, but that does sound like a good idea. Smart bulbs seem kinda useless to me, but a three-way light switch with on/auto/off might actually be really nice.
This is so complicated. Especially for a bathroom where there is likely only one entrance, you're no more than 5 steps from the such at any one time and you only need to operate the lights when you enter/leave.