I have never gotten quite to grips with Maya's spline/curve tools. Having used Illustrator for years and having gotten used to it's bezier curves I find Maya's curves a pain. Why are they so akward, why can you not have CPs with control handles like Illustrator.

I know this can be done cos they have this feature in Cinema and I find it MUCH easier. I mean when I want to create a right angle curve in Maya I have to click three times on the same spot, in C4D I shape it with control points. Is this something to do with NURBS or Maya's evolutionary background?