In my view, Neo vs iPad comes down to iPadOS vs macOS. I had the M2 iPad Air with the Magic Keyboard for two years and I couldn't wait to finally return to macOS.
Since you already have an M2 MacBook Air, I don’t see a need to get a Neo. The single-core performance is slightly better on the Neo, but the M2 Air weighs the same, is nearly as portable, and has a better display and better ports.