Why you limp with pocket Aces

So a couple of weeks ago, I made mention of a hand where I doubled up after limping in from the small blind while heads-up. This hand sparked a little discussion between me, Dan (the other player in the hand), Farmer Tim, and Kid Dave (the last two were observers and wondering why I did that) - Dan was the only one who understood my line of thinking, and agreed with it after he heard it.

It all goes back to what I say a lot in my postings, that you can't play the same hand the same way all the time...and pocket aces certainly qualifies here. Down nearly 3-1 HU at the time and sitting with about 16K in chips (blinds 1K/2K), and I'm trying to find a way to double up against a solid player. So what are the options when first to act pre-flop?

1) Shove all-in, and hope opponent has something reasonable to call. Up 3-1 HU, unless he has a pair or Ace-something, you get the blinds - congrats, you're now down 18K to 46K (or close to that). If I'm down by a greater amount (say, 5-1 or more), I just shove, as opponent is getting correct price to call with nearly anything. The upside is that your opponent may do an Antonio Esfandiari impersonation and ask you "Why so much?", and call. The maximum value (double up) is unlikely, so let's pass here on this move.

2) You could just raise 3-4x the BB, though if you're willing to put about half your stack in pre-flop, you might as well just go all the way since you're pot-committed at this point...and a smart opponent might figure this out. I like this about as much as #1.

3) Min-raise him to 4K. This option is better, especially if you've shown the ability to make this raise before. If your normal raise is 3-4x the BB, however, this should look suspicious to a solid player (or at the least, one who is paying attention). Good players use this to induce action...most donks do it to raise without committing many chips with 2 face cards or a weak-ace.

4) Limp in. I like this move the best. It disguises your hand by showing weakness ("Just wanna see a flop"), and may induce your opponent to try to raise pre-flop...once this happens, any reraise all-in is going to be called (too good a price not to call), and you've got your money in the middle as you hoped for.

Of course, there are perils with this move post-flop, as your opponent's rags might strike gold against you, but that's a chance you have to be willing to take here at heads-up.