To address issues such as high throttle loss, high energy consumption, and low efficiency in traditional electro-hydraulic control systems, a novel electro-hydraulic control system characterized by independent metering is introduced in this study. This system incorporates a full-bridge hydraulic resistance network, and its energy-saving control strategy is extensively investigated under typical four-quadrant load. Comprising five two-position two-way proportional valves, the hydraulic-resistance full-bridge electro-hydraulic system is categorized into three control modes: a traditional three-position four-way control mode, an independent metering control mode, and a load sensitive control mode. In the traditional mode, the opening control of the two load ports mimics three-position and four-way inlet and outlet coupling. In the independent metering mode, one cavity regulates the flow, while the other cavity controls the full opening of the valve port. The load-sensitive mode ensures a fixed pump outlet pressure higher than the intake cavity pressure, achieving load-sensitive functionality. Additionally, a flow regeneration circuit is used for energy-saving control across all three modes. Results of combined simulation using AMESim+MAT2 show that compared with the traditional three-position four-way valve mode, the three-position four-way flow regeneration mode, the independent metering flow regeneration mode, and the load sensitive mode can achieve energy savings of 43.38%, 65.27%, 77.91% and 83.58%, respectively.