Another Marlin fan here too.

Stronger, look better, function much smoother, easier to clean, easier to take apart and reassemble.

A big feature that the Marlin has that the 94 does not is that when you close the lever on the Marlin it snaps closed and keeps the trigger block safety depressed with out you having to do anything else. The 94 does not snap the lever shut and you MUST squeeze the lever to the stock in order to depress the trigger block safety and fire the gun. If your hands are a bit large like mine it is a little bit dificult to quickly wrap your hand completely around the stock tight enough every time in order to depress the trigger block safety and fire the gun. This is a big nuisance for me with the 94's.