Custom category templates

I've been burdened with an awkward workaround since NS fist gave us the ability to apply custom category templates. The fact that nobody else has questioned this issue on these boards makes me hopeful that there is a straighforward solution somewhere. Here's the problem:

We utilize custom templates on most of our category pages (example:  http://www.thewatchprince.com/watch-box ) To do this, I create a custom category template, and then create a custom layout which uses the category template, and then apply the layout to a category.

Problem is, if there are no subcategories beneath the category I apply the layout to, the content of my template will not appear on the page. If I add an empty subcategory, voila!, the template content appears.