You are right about the state of 3D. In fact it is ruining me. To date I now own, Carrara 4 pro (Love it), Amapi (don't care much for it), Hexagon, Silo, Vue 4, Amorphium Pro (ahead of it's time, not up to date), and the latest and most ridiculously extravagant Cinema 4D R9.5 Studio bundle, and Macromedia Director MX2004. I am so enamored with all these toys (and now totally broke) that I don't know which one to concentrate on learning.

I have to say, been a Carrara user since v2 and bought C4D because I thought it would be the super version of C4D. Love C4D (studio) it is super powerful and fantastic. BUT. When I compare the cost of C4D with the features of Carrara per cost, unless you have the time to learn all C4D can do and into pro 3D, Carrara is still the best bang for your buck you can get. Although if you have the dough, C4D is awesome.