Play Action plays- putting your rb on a route vs canceling the playaction handoff?

So my question is when you pick a PA Play does it change anything whether you cancel the fake hand off vs just putting your rb on a route and not having that faked handoff? Does it affect anything like blocking? I know alot of PA plays your rb will become a blocker once you cancel the handoff animation and for some plays your rb will run a route like a flat or something like that. I always figured it would be best to just put the rb into a route so that when you hike the ball all your focused on is the pass and not having to cancel the animation. I guess without the fake handoff then the linebackers wont have a chance of taking a step towards the line and this negates the whole point of having a PA Play. It just seems like alot of PA plays can end in a sack or quick pressure for some reason if your line doesn't hold up so I will usually put my rb into a route.