I personally think AK is overrated. They should be played aggressively hoping to see a flop with the least amount of opponents as possible. At the same time, you have to remember all you have is nut high card top kicker. A pair of deuces beats you, so if you miss the flop you have tread carefully.
While it's true that 22 has a the lead over AK if AK misses the flop, you have to consider the the fact that there aren't a lot of flops where 22 will be comfortable continuing with. 22 is only flopping a set ~12% of the time, so 88% of the time, they're missing and facing over cards. This makes it difficult for a hand like 22 to continue with a c-bet on most flops with only a ~5% chance to hit a 2 on the turn. You could c-bet, but ~95% of the time an over card is hitting the turn, making it more difficult for 22 to continue with it's aggression.
AK doesn't have the same problem c-betting on missed flops as it still has ~13% chance to hit the turn with an A or K. It also has more fold
equity on most flops that 22 doesn't as it can continue to be aggressive on dry, uncoordinated boards.
Basically, most flops will miss 22 and makes it difficult for 22 to continue with any type of post flop aggression. AK is missing the flop about 66% of the time, but can c-bet most dry boards and will take it down more often than 22 will with sheer aggression and fold equity.