What's the alternative?

drywall over OSB or plywood

Oh, I didn't know where you were "coming from."

drywall is pretty weak material, esp for a garage

It depends on what you need the strength for. If you intend to run your
car into the wall then if you are stuck with 2x4 uprights, the plywood or
OSB would make it slightly stronger. If that's your problem and you are
starting from scratch, you can over design the wall and make it from 2x6
material with the same spacing. That would be about twice is resistant to
your car's bumper.

OSB is pretty cheap but has decent strength

Drywall might not be as strong as OSB but it still makes the wall much
stronger. For repairability, I would prefer the drywall and the fire
resistance is a bonus. If you want strength, use two layers and/or
thicker than 1/2".

THE weakness is from moisture. You can get "no paper" sheet material but
it's much more expensive and heavier. I not sure how well OSB will handle
moisture either.