Sea Harrier and F-14 interception depends on variant

Were late-Cold-War Sea Harriers better bomber interceptors than American F-14s or F-4s?

It depends on the variants: the Sea Harrier II compares well with early models, while improved F-14s retain the advantage.

For this bomber-interception comparison, the Sea Harrier II ranks above the F-14A, while improved F-14 variants rank above the Sea Harrier II. The F-14A in turn ranks above the original Sea Harrier because of beyond-visual-range capability. F-4 comparisons likewise depend on the variant. Matching a first-generation Phantom against a Sea Harrier II puts aircraft separated by roughly thirty years of development against each other.