I come from a Maya background myself. I have recently switched over to XSI and have discovered that the workflow is easier for beginners. There is an option is XSI to switch to QWERTY mode which is awesome for Maya users because it functions almost identically (aside for some things like the lack of hotbox). I would recommend XSI for modelling (especially organic modelling), texturing and shading. I still use Maya for dynamics and effects, which is the area of the field I am going into. XSI unlike most of the other 3d animation packages I have dabbled in is really cool with importing and exporting a wide spectrum of file formats. Good luck!