01-25-2011, 12:51 PM
Honestly, they are all approximately equally good. It is just a matter of personal preference and what you want to do. The free Blender is just as good as any of the others. They all lack some features compared to others, and all have extra features not in some of the others. Some have their own strengths as you said, with houdini, particles. Lightwave does not have bad particles either, and it is just a matter of knowing what you are doing with the others. For animation, Maya, Cinema 4D, or Blender.