this might sound like a cop out, but every hand is situational. any hand can be played different ways in different spots of the tourney or cash games. all we can do is make the best decision about the AQ at the time you have it, and not worry about any of the other times it has failed or worked for you.
This isn't a cop out, it is the absolute truth. Every hand is either a made hand (value hand), a drawing hand (semi-bluff), or a bluff. When you can't tell what your hand is, this is when you get into trouble.
In my myriad of notes I have taken for myself over the years, I have told myself continually that "pairs suck". A large percentage of the hands we play will simply be paired hands, but they are so easily beat that getting all your chips in with a pair or less, is a real crapshoot.
If you are playing AQ as a value hand, then you must be trying to isolate pre-flop. All-in preflop with any hand is not appropriate (heck we only have 2 cards, how do we know anything) (I know many would not agree with me, but I feel strongly about this.) Then when you see the flop, you will now be better able to decide whether this is still a value hand or if it is now a
bluffing hand - it may never be a drawing hand if you are only drawing to a pair.