I think that smaller pocket pairs is not allways playable at all. I'm not talking about the above situation now. But IF I am to play a smaller pocket pair from late position I'd rather raise with it pre-flop beeing there haven't been any raises in front of me. I do this because:
A) I probably hold the best hand at the moment.
B) If I hit the flop I have allready gotten money into the pot and limited the fields for draws and stuff like that. And there is a good chance that the caller has hit a top pair two pair or anything like that which should normally give me a great win.
C) I probably win the blinds and that's better than nothing.
D) I am a slight favourite even against AK and premium hands like those. (Oki this is similar to point A).

I think this has been a successful tactic especially if the table has tightened up a little. Off course I throw them at once if I get to face a big re-raise or if I'm sure the other player has made his hand on the flop. Aggression is almost allways good on weak tables. If the table is very weak I'd even consider raising it from early position. Oki so I'm a maniac