Haven't you heard of anyone using XSI? Well, a lot of companies are currently moving from Max / Maya to XSI these days. Half-Life 2 models were done using XSI. Almost all the computer animation for movies is done with XSI. I am not a modeller, but I know a modeller which uses XSI and he says that it totally ROCKS.
The cheap an cool alternative is Silo, IMHO.
The cheap an cool alternative is Silo, IMHO.