I've used a few programs over the last 8 years or so, but I would have to say Blender is my favourite still. It does have some bugs, and some peculiarities, but on the whole, it is the fastest modeller I have used. Hot-keys take a bit to get used too, but after a while you can move very quickly through your work flow. In my experience, much quicker than Maya, and quicker than MAX by a bit.
I'm not a fan of Maya at all. The interface is cluttered, and the workflow is slow as a wet week when it comes to modelling. The radial menu is really cool, but that doesn't make up for the slowdown you hit when there are 5 ways of achieving something. My experience with Maya is limited to 2 years at Uni, though, so I can't really comment on it that well. If I used it every day I am sure I would speed up a lot.
Max is very good in the polygonal modelling department. I started to really get into 3D with GMAX, so I have a very healthy respect for it. In college I used 3DSMAX for everything, and ended up writing tutorials for the class and taking them when the next year came through. I would say I have moderate experience with Max. I still found the interface to slightly ungainly, but for the most part I really enjoyed using it. That was Max 5.1 hehe, some time ago. I finished college, and since I have never been big on piracy or money, I went back to Blender.
Blender has come a long way, and really benefits from the small size and small methodology behind it's development. Everything is accessible quickly, and with the non-overlapping menu, nothing is obscured when you need it. With the speed of development, you know that it is always being improved, and the developers are really accessible. I have met a few of them, and they really are passionate and pragmatic people. A downside of its rapid development is that the interface, or at least the button placement, got a little haphazard. 2.5 will redefine that, and it already looks amazing. I have used Blender and Max in a professional setting since 2007, and Blender definitely holds its own. I used Blender to animate engineering structures, Blender to develop game assets for a paid project using DBPro (with Cash Curtis), and worked at
http://www.infinite-interactive.com on two games using Blender and 3DSmax. Together, Max and Blender are good.
So, I do have a tad of experience, and no, Quoth the Raven, Blender is not crap.
Regards,
Greenlig