[amulet]

1. calling is fine. however, as you know, if you raise limiting the field gives you the best chance of winning the pot. while aks plays well multiway, you are out of position vs the lag and you make a flush less then 6% of the time. yes, there are many additional ways to win, however as you allow each opponent to join the pot your positive ev goes down. the question is where is your ev greater. while the call wins you more big pots, i think the ev of 3 betting is greater over time. additionally if you 3 bet, the way to describe the table you might get 1 or 2 to join anyway. also i like to get the most money in the pot when i think i have the best hand.
overall both are ok plays. however, again, i think your ev is somewhat greater with the 3 bet. you goal is not to win the most pots, or to win the biggest pots, it is to win the most money over time. therefore, i 3 bet most of the time.

2. as is everything in poker, this is somewhat game dependent. and you do not want to be 3 bet with ajs. however, i think raising has even more value here then question 1. you want to limit the field here more then above. winning a big pot would be great, but winning the pot is the goal. again we have the same positive ev question as above. raising forces out some k's and q's that could beat you if the flop comes j high. yes, this hand plays well multiway, but i like it with a limited field much better. i like forcing kqo, aqo, qts, etc. to fold. and from what you say several of the players behind you will join anyway. i think your here ev is greater with a raise.

3. this one is the only must raise in my opinion. AA vs 4 opponents is not 50% to win. you will lose more often then you win if you do not raise and both blinds join. of course both plays have a positive ev. but if you raise, and one of the blinds calls anyway that puts more $ in the pot with the best hand, vs calling and having both join (and the extra opponent). with only 1 pair, even AA, i think not raising costs you $. in this case your ev will be significantly more positive then a call (even if you end up heads up). of the 3 questions, in 1 i think it is a little close, but a raise increases your ev, in 2 while both plays are ok the raise has a bigger positive ev then in 1, and in 3 the positive ev will be significant vs 1 and 2.