I agree with Joe about the importance of the artist; technology changes quite rapidly, and with all these advancements you constantly hear about some hot new software that claims to be the "make awesome" button.
That being said; it is worthwhile to look at the pros and cons of the different software combinations you've described. I'm a huge fan of Rhino, but have the mentality that you should use the right tool for the job.
Rhino is great for architectural design; the level of precision you can achieve with it is amazing, and Rhino's nurbs are phenomenal. This makes it great for designing projects that are more organic, and if you use grasshopper you can do a lot of great parametric stuff as well.
3dsMax is great for all the capabilities it offers (as francisco mentioned), but due to it's lack of "precision" I personally hate using it as a design tool. However, all of its features make it great for visualization, especially if you're visualizing a project that you didn't design (it's pretty good about importing a variety of model types).
As for the Maxwell vs. Vray conversation; Maxwell is as close to it gets to having a one-click solution to getting a great rendering, but the trade-off is the amount of time it takes to create a presentable image. V-ray has a much higher learning curve, but once you get the hang of it you can crank out Maxwell quality renderings in a fraction of the time.
Your personal goals might help dictate what software is right for you; if you're looking to do a lot of architectural design, stick with Rhino (and take the time to learn Vray, although it's not as good for rhino IMO). If you're looking to do only arch-viz, you might find yourself working more effectively with 3dsMax + Vray. I honestly would never recommend using Maxwell unless you've got nothing but time on your hands, or you're too lazy to force yourself to learn Vray