In HOH vol 2, discussing HU play, he says that it is nearly never correct to fold the sb. He does go on with a caveat 'if you are reasonably sure you will not be raised'.
Since a pure sb-bb contest happens often it is nearly always correct to call there (3-1 odds). Since any random 2 cards are seldom less that about a 40% dog, getting 3-1 in that case is not a bad thing.
Add in a limper or 2, and the increased odds against what still appears to be a random deal, with no serious strength shown, and the increased odds favor completion.
I don't always complete, there are reads involved, of course, but from a purely odds based POV, it can't be considered a bad thing.
Once it gets to 3-4 limpers before you, and no expectation for the bb to raise, the odds get evened out even if someone is slowplaying aces, to the point where at 4 limpers plus the bb, you are getting 11-1 and ATC become viable.
Oddly for me, I am more likely to play ATC than cards I would often play in smaller fields, like hi suited connectors (7 up). With the ATC's you either hit it hard or miss totally, and they are easy to muck, with decent cards against a large field, it gets testy and I often avoid testy situations.
This is as much about feel, as it is statistics, though I'm sure there are a few here who could drum up some stats for us.