Not to wade too far into the battleground that is commenting on EWR, but...

The OP doesn't say whether they will have lounge access at EWR, either through Polaris or Star Alliance Gold, or... That would make a huge difference. I would certainly pick the Newark connection with four hours in one of the UCs or the Polaris Lounge. YMMV and others on this board would/will strongly disagree with me.