So, when we look at energy management (aka Q) ... which SSE can speak to with authority ... does the F-35 have that going for it? I realize that we are once again tripping over apples and oranges comparisons in different eras, but I don't think that the basics of lift, energy management, and physics have changed since the Phantom flew over SEA fifty years ago.
If I am wrong, I am very happy to be corrected.
I doubt that there is a single metric one can point to to quantify energy management. Having said that, perhaps the closest is sustained turn rate. Being able to load the aircraft in a continuous turn without losing either airspeed or altitude seems to address energy management rather well. The F-35's sustained turn rate is around 4.5G. The F-16's about 4.7G. Pretty close. The F-4's is about 4.0G. Of course these numbers are all at different gross weights with different fuel states and different weapon load outs, but they're all at 20,000 ft and the rest are roughly in the same ballpark.