Oh lord! What cheats they are, and what seeds of doubt you plant in my choice.
sorry, i didnt mean to say they are cheating. Just that as an LT tyre, they are rated for fairly high loads ( and therefore are expected to run at high pressure ), and they then require the driver to drive to conditions, and control tyre pressure based on conditions. This is something that you should be doing as a driver anyway, regardless of what rubber you run.
So the point being that the m+s rated tyres are not a replacement for a full on mud tyre or a snow/winter tyre. They will have 'reasonable' and 'better' performance than a non m+s rated ( eg. the Dunlop AT20 etc ), but you do need to air down, track load etc based on conditions.
Look at it this way - you are running Dunlop A23's - which is a Summer tyre, with only slightly better than average wet tarmac handling rating. The KO2 is a Light Truck tyre rated for more stressful usage, and is certified with the m+s mark, which means it has some basic mud and snow handling and will meet European laws for winter tyre requirements in some areas. However, because the tyre is m+s rated, does not mean you can just drive whenever wherever whatever, you do need to track tyre pressures ( airing up and down as needed ) and drive to conditions. And an m+s rated tyre is not a substitute for a proper Mud Terrain like the KM2 or a soft rubber/studded winter tyre meant for snow and ice conditions.
hope this helps and clears up the confusion a bit.