Just a tip from my point of view:
I would go with the short check.
If you do 2 itineraries, while it will work, should your first flight be delayed they will not know why you haven't caught your 2nd one and your ticket could be cancelled etc and all that mess.
Now yes, I am sure you could explain it to them, and get it all figured out, but it's a LOT easier if all your flights are on the same PNR. If one is delayed they see why you missed it and proactively put you on a later one.