NiMH self discharge is around 10% for the first day and then 1% daily after that. They still last a good while.
So comparing 2000mAh AA LSD with 2500 regular NiMH .... you'll take a few weeks to discharge that extra 500mAh.

Initially I ran eneloops in only my low drain devices but I've found them very reliable so am slowly replacing my energizer 2650s with them. I splurge for lithium primaries if I need a lot of power.

Note you can get 2500mAh LSD "eneloop XX" which trade the higher power for less recharge cycles.