Poser and I have never really hit it off, but it is what it is, and there really isn't anything out there that can replace it. Professional?! If you're a professional, you model your own characters, or have staff that does it for you. Poser is designed for people who can not, or do not have the resources to model a character or rig it.

Poser, like every other platform out there, can get a bit dodgier with every release, simply because new code is written, and integrated with the original. How bad it gets depends on the talent of the coders, and how strenuous the testing is. A perfect example is Cinema 4D. In R6, you couldn't crash it with a big stick. In R10, it does take a big stick, but it will go down. Personally, I think P7 was very well done, and had no more issues that P5. And P7 had some  very well thought out improvements to the render engine.

As far as render engines go, everyone has their favorite, because interfaces vary so widely. You have to find one that clicks with you. VRay is like an old comfy pair of shoes for me. Other people find it illogical. I've seen Bryce 5 renders that will blow your socks off, because the artist knew his render engine and how to stretch it.

So, I'll have to disagree. Poser is for people who want to create characters, find facial features very important, but couldn't model one from scratch unless given a full year and some intense rigging training. Poser does a good job in what it's intended to do.

hmm... I've had P7 running (sometime minimized) for 3 days now, and it hasn't even thought about crashing. Yeah, I get distracted easily.