Isn't it more a question of personal desires? You almost answered your question yourself in the above. Each program has its own pros and cons, each has a specific look (and feel). When i did professional computer animation (last century) i think in 90% of the cases i was able to say in which software something was rendered. A question of knowledge about the capabilities and specific things of each software. Try things out and see what you prefer - look at images in the specific galleries (Cinema, Bryce, Lightwave etc) and see what you are impressed about most. And look at your bank acount - what you can afford to buy. If you already have Cinema look carefully wether Lightwave will bring the big step forward that you expect. Maybe there is a demo version as well that you can try out. What not too many people pook at right now is Softimage (www.softimage.com). They have a new price system and a starter package on Windows that is incredible pricewise. You can download a demo to see how it is, the results in the gallery there are VERY impressive.

One day your ship comes in - but you're at the airport.