Actually, I'd say the ergonomics are the fault of the weapon. If you have not realized the limitations of the weapon, I'd say you've not been adequately trained in combat marksmanship.
In the case of the AK, the design leaves a whole lot to be desired as a gunfighters weapon for work at realistic combat ranges. Controls are not well placed, not easy to manipulate, and the magazine change drill is slower and clumsier than with an M4/M16.
I have a number of both AR's and AK's. I've also shot a few M16's and select fire AK's.
At "realistic" combat ranges, both are effective. The AR/M16 is the better target rifle and does have better iron sights for precision shooting, there is no doubt there, but the AK is still capable of good "realistic" combat accuracy. Put a red dot on one, especially a good forward mounted dot on one of the Ultimak mounts, and it will give the AR/M16 a run for the money. With the iron sights, up close, I find the AK easier to shoot well quickly with than the M16, but thats just me.
The AR/M16 does have some ergonomic points over the AK, but not necessarily all that much better.
The M16A2's with a fixed stock are to long, they made a mistake making it longer. The M16/M16A1,s stock was fine, and interestingly, has the exact same LOP as the AK's. I dont know about you, but the AK shoulders and points more naturally for me. I have A1 stocks on most of my AR's.
The M16's safety and mag release are fine if your right handed, but not so lefty friendly. The AK is more ambidextrous, the safety and mag release can easily be operated with either hand, and your hand does not need to leave the grip to take the safety off or drop a mag. All my AK's will drop an empty mag without touching it, and with practice, a quick mag change is not really all that much slower than the M16's. (Yes, the M16 usually wins, but not by all that much, and I dont know that a lefty would win against a lefty using an AK.) The mag release is easily easily reached and pushed with the tip of the middle finger of the hand on the grip.
Yes the M16 has a bolt stop and a bolt release. No, the AK doesnt. I know a lot of people make a big deal out of this, but I dont really see why. The gun stops shooting, you reload, whats the problem? The M16 you pop in a new mag and hit the bolt stop, the AK you rock in a new mag and stroke the charging handle. Both guns are loaded. If your starting from a closed bolt on an empty chamber, I find the AK is easier and more positive to get loaded quickly.
They both do have their pluses and minuses. Is one better than the other, whos to say. Do you think a Russian professional soldier has trouble working his AK? I still think, for the most part, the weapons operator is going to be the weak link more than the weapon itself. Its been my experience when you hand one to someone who bitches about the AK's, they usually have no idea how to properly work them. They try to change mags with the wrong hand and think you have to take your hand off the grip to sweep the safety off or drop a mag. Their whole experience with one has been either a quick weapons familiarization session, or they bump fired a couple of mags at the local range. If you actually take the time to figure them out, most all of the supposed difficulties go away.
As for the accuracy complaints, these two targets were shot this afternoon with a Romanian SAR1 wearing a wire folder using the iron sights. The range was 200 yards. The ammo is Wolf 154gr SP's. The target on the left was from a rest, the top right group was the first fired from a cold gun. The first four were the tight group, the fifth was the flyer as the gun heated up. The other two groups and the few single rounds at the bottom, not circled, were sight adjustments and the gun was still pretty warm.
The target on the right is also 200 yards, this time from both a rest and then cross legged sitting. The three at the bottom were from a rest and a different POA, and the group at the top was from sitting.
This is the rifle that did the shooting. The red dot wasnt used as it was a cheapie Tasco and didnt fare to well from a drop out of the truck a little while back, one reason I was there, to confirm it was still working, and to try out the heavier Wolf. Looks like it will be getting its own Aimpoint.
I dont know about you, but I wouldnt want to be standing at 200 yards if this rifle was shooting twice as bad as it did. This is also from a crappy Century SAR1. My Russian Saiga shoots a good bit better.