Back to the question. It all comes down to what you are trying to acheive. If you are looking for the most power. Make the most you can in bore. That is not to say use a 4.500" bore with a 452 head.

I like to build the largest bore and then stuff the most stroke affordable to get the most bang for the buck with the rules at hand. I post quite often on this subject because beginners are always wanting to run R3 blocks that can go 4.200" and run forever but want to choke thier Race W7-9 heads with a 4.100" bore. Then brag on how big their engine is because they stuffed a 4.250 stroke in it. There is a place for a 4.250" stroke crank in a small block. I have been wanting to build a small bore small headed small block with a before mentioned crank. Because I would love a stock stall speed converter with a highway gear ratio and a torque monster engine. Can you say driveability with big power.

I know very little about generation II Hemi's but I would think they would benefit less than a wedge from increasing bore.

Leon