Playing AK oop in cash games

From what i've experienced, playing AK from oop as a beginner doesn't seem to be a great idea. It wins lots of small pots, a few medium sized pots, but on the occasion when the pot gets large it seems to be against someone who flopped a set, or less likely, an open ended straight flush draw.

I'm starting to lean towards a large opening raise 5-6x the BB to drive out small pp's/Ax/medium suited connecters(as opposed to 3-4x, in search of action). Or occassionally limping in, and more often than not 3-betting when i get reraised from late position.

I'm pretty tight most of the time, 10-15% at 9 max. So if i've raised 4x from UTG+1 with AKos and an opponent calls from the button I'll typically c-bet 1/2 to a full pot depending on whether or not a possible flush draw appeared or if there are several connected cards (7-8-10), regardless of whether or not i hit a pair. If i'm met with a call or raise i'll typically dump my hand. When the board was wet i gave poor odds 2-1, and when its dry and i bet 1/2-2/3 there was no reason for him to stay in on the hand unless he has something good.

So should I adjust and raise 5-6x? Any advice would be appreciated.

dont start limping it. expect to get sucked out on a lot (i assume youre playing super micros)

with TPTK, bet/bet/bet. fold if you get raised because this will generally always be a better hand like you said.

3b it pre vs pretty much everyone

usually if your playing shrt stacked 40bbs and you see 2-3 limps in front of you 9 handed a shove wouldn't be that bad.
Its a raise fold flop hand oop. chk fold or bet fold...never chk call unless TPTK etc

The texture of the board isn't the only consideration affecting whether / how much to cbet. Among the other things that can factor in, a couple are the opponent's style and likely range. For example, would you rather cbet into someone who calls with almost anything and also likes to float, or into a passive player who will only call with a decent hand and who will seldom raise?