I do not love max mostly because of extremely rigid workflow. Everything needs so many more clicks than any other software, and there are unbelievable issues for a software which is the standard - just as example, the fact that camera resolution is scene-based, so i cannot setup many different cameras with different resolutions. There are scripts to come around this, but to jump from one camera to another you need seven clicks. BTW it's just a single example, but same kind of "mental" complexity seems to go all through the software. BTW mine is a newcomer impression and surely a deeper experience could reveal solutions, but first glance is all but positive.
Even the highly hyped Forest pack, which has hundred options and several rollouts, seems not to be able to do basic things i do in LW with extreme ease and just few tools at my disposal.
Overall, the whole Max workflow seems quite rigid and sequential, with a lot of internal incompatibilities, like if max is an ensembe of pieces not talking each other. If you do something in one way instead of another, then you will not be able to use a given tool, and so on and on.
Being used to Lightwave, where everything is so straight-forward and logic, Max experience is very unpleasant and uselessly complex. So, before i jump on it and spend a lot of time to find a decent workflow (if there's any), i really want to know if other solutions around are nearly as good.... even considering they are much cheaper.
Best,
Paolo