Circle of the Shepherd Druid Guide to Fuzzy Fury

[Master O'Laughs]

Depends on how you play/how your DM is. If you are safe mostly and your front line can keep enemies off you, Sentinel Shield would be better. If you are in danger a lot and your DM has enemies going straight for you, Cloak of Protection would be better.

If it is an open battlefield I will get targeted some but the DM typically spreads the wealth with his monsters' attacks. There have been fights where I was able to successfully avoid all but 1 attack since I hid behind a corner most of the fight.

Depends on what circumstances encounters tend to occur under. Do monsters usually surprise you at point blank range? If so, initiative matters. If not, it matters much less.

Except for a few fights, enemies usually start within closing distance of us.

From both comments, sounds like the sentinel shield would be the better option.