Really Virgile, it depends on what kind of use you will get from your new piece, and what it is intended to do for you.
As a TV stand, you may or may not want to worry about a water resistant finish. If you need something that can be cleaned, you might want a finish that could stand mild detergents. If you want a finish that will look more like sealed wood than a traditional oiled finish, you will need to look at that aspect as well. Should the piece be exposed to hard wear and need to be touched up, that would introduce another aspect to the equation. If you simply want to finish the piece and let it go until it is time to refinish, that's another aspect.
Since finishing is part of my business, that's the questions I ask my clients.
If it is to hold a TV, you probably won't have much need for constant or deep cleaning since the TV will be the focus of the top compared to a dining room table.
I used to have a lot of problems with polyurethane as I thought it looked ugly when it cured. Many of the older polys were an ugly shade of yellow that made the woods look bizarre and strangely colored. They were hard to apply (for me) and back then I like a good varnish much better, although varnish and poly are kissin' cousins by today's forumlations.
Now I like some of the polyurethanes and my clients really like them. I like them because they are easy to spray, but as in your case, they are also quite easy to pad. When I do tabletops with urethane, I ALWAYS pad now. I spray out legs and rails, etc., but always hit the pad for a perfect finish on the tops. Most oil based urethanes have about a 4-5 hour layout, so they are very forgiving. Recoat in 8 hours. Urethanes/varnishes give an immediate warm glow to your project, but when using it with walnut I have found it darkens it too much on some pieces.
Personally I prefer lacquer for finishing, particularly these "long chain polyurethane" conversion lacquers. However, this is just a comment as I know you don't have spray equipment, and all the hybrid stuff must be sprayed.
Shellac is a very good traditional finish, and the good news is that if you don't wax the piece you can put another finish over it if you don't like it. It is also easy to repair as long as it isn't a colored shellac. Since the wood reacts to the shellac differently on every piece and contrary to popular belief ambers as well, matching an older shellac finish isn't easy. It is easy to apply, very forgiving, and give a really pretty finish. I am sure you know, but remember that shellac has very poor water resistance and a sweaty glass sitting on it for just a short while can damage the finished product.
Water borne finishes are great if you buy a quality coating.