Didn't have time to read all the other comments, so sorry if I repeat.

I gave up on the dated, annoying and time-consuming interface of Poser and am only using DAZ Studio (D|S) now. Latest version is quite good and so much easier to use than Poser. It imports perfectly to Vue, although it doesn't have the (often buggy) back-and-forth features that resulted form e-on and Poser engineers collaborating. I don't mind at all giving up the Poser-Vue integration, in order to get the much better D|S. On the other hand, I'm not a figure specialist - most of my images have figures in them, but at mid to long distance, not "portraits".

I get most models from DAZ (I find being a "Platinum" member for 3D model discounts to be a good value), and from Cornucopia 3D (as e-on's official Vue site, it's a "must-use"). Rendo here is also good - especially for clothing and female figures. And Monsoon (moderator of Vue forum at 3D Commune forum has several fantastic tool kits or sets and is a master at fire type effects in vue - and lots else). Another well-known and amazing commercial modeler "Stonemason" - try a Google search. He sells on DAZ.

A must-have product for Vue is "SkinVue" - from Cornucopia. It will give your figures skin materials very superior to the default ones.

I agree with your choice of V7i (and with Peggy's post too, since I'm not that familiar with the version differences - I have Infinite). V7 has an improved render engine and radiosity, etc. and my experiments show much improved interior renders Vs V6. They can be great. You might check out the "Lighting Challenge" at CGTalk (another good forum). It's to be judged in early January and is an interior of the London Natural History Museum. I expect several Vue submittals (mine being one). There are some posts about it here.

Chipp Walters is the master of modeling inside Vue (and he sells some tools to help), but most people like to sculpt in a 3D modeling tool and import to Vue. My favorite is Silo 3D, but a modeling tool decision  is very personal. Lots of post in Vue fora about that.