"Bryce for Bryce's sake." Not really, a lot depends on what feels more comfortable to you. Take a look at Beton's gallery, he still uses Poser 4, Bryce 5, and Painter 7 and produces some of the best work here. I like Shade, others can't work with it. I can't work with Wings, others swear by it. Funcions are not the be all and end all, first and formost is: do you like working in that environment?