I would say Lightwave and Modo should be a good solution.

Lightwave is a all-in-one-package. Modelling, Texturing, Animation and Rendering.
And you can export directly to MDL7 (FBX also).

If you want Sculpting and 3D-Painting then it's time for modo.

And the best of all: Modo can read/write Lightwave-Objects (*.lwo) and Lightwave-Scenes (*.lws) directly.