Geared drive not worth it.
 

Got my rear hub mounted and as I'm awaiting batteries I decided to go out for a spin. There's more difference between my 700c Hybrid and this bike than there is between the direct drive hub and the bike before I installed the new hub.

The biggest difference is acceleration. Getting that big flywheel rolling take more energy.

I would have expected the geared hub to have more torque and maybe a little less top speed. Are you using the same battery voltage on each bike?