http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=231405
That's AK vs SKS. I'd not consider the AR in the same class, cheap, reliable, useful for medium game, mainly the cheap part.
I have no need for anything tacticool, though I did dress up an SKS for the heck of it. But, I don't think the AR is anything I'd actually want. I have absolutely NO use for any black gun like that in .22 caliber especially. For those that love tacticool, I suppose it's the ultimate, but I use my rifles to hunt with and hunting rifles are better at hunting than tacticool rifles. Sure, you can hunt with a tacticool rifle, you can also kill someone with a M700 Remington.
Neither is ideal for those applications unless you are a sniper. There are Remington 700 based sniper rifles.
For me, though, this sort of gun, the SKS in particular, is just a cheap knock about fun gun for range blasting with cheap ammo. I can't justify the cash for an AR when the SKS works so well for this. If you wanna split the difference with a decent caliber, more tacticool, but still affordable, consider the AK. I don't much care for AKs either, though.
I suppose it's your perceived "need" that will get you into what you choose. If you're a black helicopter survivalist type, you might want the AR tacticool in the NATO caliber. For me, the SKS is just a cheap fun gun and that's why I have a couple. I mean, at the price you can't NOT own one, not considering how well they work!