When is AES chosen instead of a stream Cipher (e.g., RC4) during an SSL connection?
I understand that AES would be a better choice for applications where all the data is available at once, permitting the use of large blocks. RC4 on the other hand is more suited for applications where continuous data (that may not be available all at once) is to be encrypted (e.g., real-time data).


No, this is not accurate. The block size of AES is just 128 bits. It makes no difference with practical data sizes on the web, since at most you add 16 bytes to ciphertext size.

And anyway, many modes of operation, like GCM which is one of the more common choices with modern servers and browsers, turn AES into a stream cipher.