both my bros do max. once they convinced me to do 3ds max for 1 week, and promised me that once i start i wont be able to stop. in that week i learned quite a bit (i have never done max b4), the one feature that i loved was pelt mapping. it ROCKS. i tell you max is easier to learn.
but i immediately stopped after the week was over, not that i didnt like max. but i feel more comfortable around maya. max probably has a better interface (i have never really explored max). but mayas one seems to fit my type and does seem for effective for me.

alot of ppl in these forums may disagree with me. but this is only my opinion!