Ok i am a Lightwaver... coming into Maya,,, cause of work reasons.

My opions on Lightwave is that its a great piece of software for the price you are paying. value for money. But clearly you can see that its animation toolset needs loads more improvement.

As for Max... i used it to covert models and prepare stuff for a short time for work. I find its really come a long way, and a good competition for a top spot.

As for Maya, I can say this.. great piece of software,,, all is in one place.. No need to look elseware for other stuff.. Really nice animation toolset.

But then again i know its not the toolset,, but the artist. But to enable the artist to work faster means he is more productive and hence he spends less time going around loops.

Thats my 2 cents worth.