It is a very polarized type of hands.
I think that you are correct in that if you can't isolate them HU they are almost only good for hitting top set.
So either play them as cheap as possible by limping or just calling in late position. You play them for set-mining basically.
On the lower stakes people often can go broke with second or third set and they often think you would have raised if you had AA.
If you can get it all-in pre-flop HU they are still good enough for that, but it mostly happens against a short-stack.
So I would suggest try to see a cheap flop, And no set no bet if it is multi-way pot post flop.
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