thank you each so much!!

Both the front door and garage door need to be darker. Your existing colors do no go at all, its too light.

A southern exposure is going to be hard on any finish, so whatever you decide to do I would resign myself to having to refresh it frequently.

Is the door in good shape outside of the finish issue? If so, have you had a professional take a crack at refinishing?

If that is off the table, I'd agree with the above, Provia, HMI, and HomeGuard make very nice entry doors in fiberglass or steel. The latter two are someowhat regionally available. A factory applied finish being baked enamel if painted, or automotive grade clear coat over stain will do the trick in terms of standing up to the elements.

Color-wise, I think that the pics above showing either stain that matches your garage door or paint that matches the windows are probably the two obvious choices. My vote would be to match the garage door unless you plan to change that.