I like the way Silo works, but it can't get on with my hardware drivers, so I have given up on it.   Driver upgrades haven't helped.    The Silo site very properly emphasizes the possibility of driver trouble, but that does imply that my experience isn't unique.   Definitely one to test thoroughly, before parting company with cash. 

Nobody has mentioned Amapi Pro in this thread, but it is available at Content Paradise for a sum well to the south of Cage's $500 limit, for any users of E-frontier software.    I know there are a few characters frequenting this forum who would take hemlock with a strychnine chaser before admitting to using Poser (so why do they hang around the Poser forum, anyway?), but the offer seems attractive to me.

Zbrush is terrific.   Even if you don't end up with a usable model, it's positively therapeutic to use.