Fun of programs which are not mentioned below please remember:
This is my private opinion. I can be wrong. ;)

MODELING
Wings3d is best subdivision software to create low poly models. If you are not going to make Victoria5 Wings will be good.

1 - it is free. 3Dmax is expensive, too expensive concerning that you can say "it is not for me" after few weeks. Moreover expensive professional programs have "professional" interface either.
2 - very very easy interface (Win3.1 style). After few hours you know all commands and can create first model, after few days you can create your first model which is worth of saving. In Blender you will be able to open and save model after few weeks of reading manuals (anywhere Blender is great software)
3 - it is quite stable. Of course I had few crashes, but comparing to another software, crashes are rare.

Daz made very similar software Pegazus. The same options and command, Interface XP style, many bugs, crash every half hours and 40$ for models in Poser scale (wings default model size is much bigger then poser figure).

UV MAP
UVmapping in wings is not the best imo (depends of preferences of course). UVmapper is free and easier

ANIMATION
If you made correct material groups in wings, they will be expored as a group on obj file to poser without any material. It is very important, because poser grouping tool is for very patient people. Making bones and fixing joints in poser is quite easy, althought human have too many fingers. I think that God never worked with Poser, if he did he would create man with 1 or 2 fingers.

TEXTURE
Photoshop would be the best, because you can find many textures in PSP format, but to be honest, processing texture is easier then making basic texture for example good photo. Paint Shop Pro is cheaper and deffinitelly sufficient.