hi i'm also learning maya and i have learnt max8, let me tell u that i'm not good at modeling at all that said, when i first started to use XSI i found that i can really model quiet well, why?, well XSI is very user friendly e.g if i were to do something in maya or max that required say 5 steps i can do the same think in XSI with just 2 to 3 steps also i really love the render region preview it will show u any changes u make to a model or material also it offers great built in tools like the compositer and u have a face and body model ready all u have to do is make changes to the basic shape of the head then u can go and customize it like make horns etc also by pressing the + & - key on the keyboard u can actually smothen the object or model without adding to the geometry also love the partical system just a couple of clicks and u have explosins and smoke etc plus a whole lot of other features, gr8 time saver. like they say its a software made by artists for artists i would chosse XSI over  3dsmax any day b'coz its easy to use gr8 rederings and a real time saver i would suggest u go to there site www.softimage.com and have a look at there features and the client real for more info. i was a real max fan till i tried XSI and would never want to work with any other software except maya still learning that :)

hope this helped

Which 3D Animation Software should you learn? Maya and 3DS Max are two of the most popular 3D animation software's in the world. But between Maya and Max, which software is more powerful and who will ultimately survive? Watch this short animation and decide for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0NYe52b0E