none of the hadith prove that ahlulbayt are panjatan alone , furthermore u r confusing the status of panjatan with that of ahlulbayt. And there is no shortage of hadith in sunni books highliting the status of ali , his sons thru fatima over all others.And ofcourse aqeel was not equal to ali, even jafar who was a earliest believer and deputy of prophet in ethiopia was not equal to ali.
for last part read waqat siffin when ali replies to muawiyah about services of ahlulbayt he mentions hamza , obaidah , jafar and zayd as martyrs. furthermore the hadith in sahih muslim / bukhari in which zayd b arqam clarifies that ahlulbayt are familes of jafar , aqeel and abbass as well. and ibn abbass's long held views on khums reported in every history of that time. read carefully no one is saying that ALL members of Ahlulbayt are at equal level.
e.g whats the comparison between aqeel a late convert and with a sluggish and dull nature and ibn abbas the warrior and outstanding scholar of his time ? even though both are same family
Panjatan = the five who were under the cloak when the verse of purification descended. If, according to you, no hadith mentions these 5 as the Ahlul Bayt (as), then I'd request you to open Sahi Muslim and Tirmidhi, and look under the chapter 'Virtues of Ahlul Bayt' and let me know what hadiths you find there.
Alhumdolillah, I am not confused about who the Ahlul Bayt (as) are, but the Ahl-e-Sunnat books sure are. While many of them state that the Ahlul Bayt (as) are the ones for whom the verse of purification descended, some go on to include the wives, and a few are far more generous with the list of people they see as the Ahlul Bayt (as). Ironically, the subject is the "Ahlul Bayt (as) of our Prophet Mohammad (saww)", yet it seems that everybody else, but the Prophet (saww), has an opinion about who HIS (saww) Ahlul Bayt (as) should be!
Your confusion is due to inability to understand the core issue, i.e. the difference between the general family and apostolic family as explained in this thread. This thread makes Shia position very clear and if the original poster wishes to ask any more questions then he is welcome again. Masalam.