I've also tried everything. Rhino is a great modeller (if you're looking for a NURBS modeller (since there are big dirrences/and many pros and cons)) and Cinema4D seems to be the best when it comes to box-modeling (hyperNURBS, really, really easy to use). The only thing I myself wouldn't buy is Carrara modeler, I couldn't get anything of that prog (doesn't mean it good). You see, the biggest decision to be made is NURBS/polymodeling; check it out by trying some demos. NURBS is a bit more complex (it often seems harder to me). And forget 3dsm, it's lame. The only thing that's good is the material-editor (not the render-engine) and you're going to use poser, i think