Well, I have to assume you're new to 3dsMax in order to ask that question in the first place. ;-) So, if you're importing an OBJ for use in a still, then the only real advantage is the faster (much faster) rendering you'll get in Max. Complex scenes are really no problem for the hybrid scanline (default) render engine, and if you have Max r6 or higher, you'll have MentalRay to play with... one of the best production-proven renderers around. Atmospherics like fog and smoke render MUCH faster than they do in Firefly, shadowmaps calculate faster, and raytracing reflections/refractions is much faster. You won't be able to do micro-poly displacement in Max, however, unless you use the MentalRay engine for rendering. The advantages of rendering ANIMATIONS (via the BodyStudio plugin) is really vast. Not only faster rendering, but you can also take advantage of Max's powerful particle system (ParticlFlow) and spray emitters, Reactor dynamics system for cloth, hard/softbody collisions, and rope simulations. Calculations are much faster and more stable than the Poser 5 dynamic technology is currently. You can also simulate water/fluid dynamics. You also have the advantage of using Max's standard or Photometric lighting system with point lights, area lights, spot lights, sunlight system, skylight, GI, radiosity, etc. 3dsMax excells at interior lighting thanks to MentalRay and photometric lighting, so this could be a major asset in building scenes. You also have the option to use the VAST plugins available for Max to do just about anything your imagination can think of. From ultra-realistic hair/fur simulations, to Bryce-like environment creation. And that's just scraping the surface. If you rig the figure in Max natively via Bones or Biped, then the possibilities are literally endless.

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Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.