Class Rank & Class Schedule Rigor

How important is class rank for Harvard Admissions? I’ve heard that the school compares your application to other students from your region. Considering that I’m from an underrepresented state, admissions will likely compare me to my hs alumni.

Do they compare you too your peers as well? Imagine you win salutatorian, and the valedictorian is a literal genius, does Harvard, or any college, take that into consideration?

Also, does you workload need to get progressively harder? I’m going to be taking 6-ish APs my senior year, 7-8 total classes, and these are the upper level courses (Calc BC, C Mechanics). 5-ish APs my junior year, 8 total classes, all weighted. Next year, I’m going to be taking 3 APs (Bio, Physics 1, Music Theory), which I’m confident about taking, but all together I’m taking 10 year long classes and 2 summer classes (easy honors prereqs), so 12 classes in total (2 of them DE). All of my senior classes will by weighted and 2 of my sophomore classes will be unweighted (prereqs).

Does my workload matter when comparing the two.

(Don’t worry about my EC’s, there pretty good, I just want to focus on my academics my sophomore year)