I’ve thought a lot about this, and while it intuitively makes sense – oil soluble = prevent acne better, I don’t think it necessarily works that way (& it hasn’t been my personal experience). The AHA’s do after all peel, whether the skin is oily or not. How “deeply” they peel is about the concentration and how long you leave it on – there’s only so much of the surface you’ll want peeled.

As for getting into the (blocked / collapsed) hair follicles and diluting the oil there, maybe salicylic acid does that, but so does alcohol or any organic solvent no?
I can see how diluting the sebum deeper in the hair follicles and also being antibacterial in there maybe does prevent some acne – but I don’t see how just because it dissolves in it it removes any of the sebum. Maybe it makes it easier to remove with soap/cleanser, I don’t know? It’s still not water soluble, or closer to the surface, is it?

Anyway, the specific benefit we get from the acids is the peeling, dissolving “glue” between the top layers of skin cells (and not just dead skin cells – dead skin cells you can just brush or scrub off, a chemical peel always involves injuring the skin slightly which is why it regenerates faster in response, and I think that repeated injury is what in the long run leads to more collagen production and wrinkle prevention).
That’s how they can prevent acne – preventing hair follicles from being blocked by dead and collapsed skin cells – and I don’t think AHA’s and BHA’s work differently here.

Another thing about salicylic acid is it’s always in isopropyl alcohol or something similar since it’s not water soluble, and I don’t like drying my skin even more when I’m peeling it.