The Daniel Defense has a hammer-forged barrel, so should do well. Not sure if the light weight model has a typical barrel profile or not. I’d expect the AK to run cooler since it is piston driven, but apparently that is not the case. Still, the AK is considerably less expensive than the DD.
As a burgeoning dictator in waiting, and given the troops to hand, I will choose the Kalashnikov. Easier to field strip and clean, runs well even if dirty, 7.62 ammo is cheap. Yes in a distance competition it is less accurate, but at 600 yards it’s good enough.