I have to quibble just a bit with Buck - for an extra 10 miles you can avoid most all towns and completely avoid Hartford. I personally would take I-95 to CT-9 to Middletown, then CT-66/I-691 to I-84. US-6 across RI and CT has several stretches that are not expressway quality. The only non-expressway the other way is a 5 mile stretch of CT-66 in and west of Middletown.

Then again, being from the area you are probably more experienced than us to plan an exact route to get to I-84.