this is a pretty pointless argument, as the answer is thus: it's not the application you use, it's the skills of the user that count. my personal preference is for max, as i find maxscript easier to use than melscript, and, in my opinion, max's polygon tools are more intuitive. that's not to say i don't recognise maya as a fantastic application, it's just my preference.

there are many pros and cons for each app, but essentially max is cheaper, and is only lacking maya's in-app fluid system (but then again, i like realflow more), and max's pflow is awesome. maya is pretty rocking when it comes to nurbs, they both have mental ray, and vray is much more than a newb's way of getting a good render.

besides, if you want to play application top trumps, my current application is houdini, so i win