Direct manipulation does work better in Carrara - but it badly wants to, because the numerical fields (since they aren't dials in Carrara), that provide the alternative, are a massive pain in the posterior.   In Carrara, I am still maddened by selecting a body part from the list, to make sure that I have the right one, and then finding that my translation/rotation/whatever affects ONLY a completely different part (I'm not talking about when the movement of one part correctly adjusts a neighbouring part, which is a good thing).   I'd like to have much better direct manipulation in Poser, but Carrara would benefit from having decent dials, too.

There was a thread on a slightly related theme recently and the "big-boy-app"-wallahs (usual suspects) piled in, to the effect that, since you don't get dials in software that costs more than a family car, you have no right to expect them in any other software.   I suspect that, if all industries followed that logic, cars would still be hand-cranked and airliners would all have propellors.