Well to tell you the truth they are all different in their own way, and
what may be easy to some may not be to others...What i would recommend
is to try the ones your thinking about using. For example get a trail of
all the ones your thinking about trying (if you find a trial) and see
which one you like and adapt to the most.Really, PERSONALLY i think you should learn what most people would consider industry standard or what the specific studio your trying to get in use ( or just use which ever you like the best, or find the most intresting which is somewhat equally a strong point )...Base on my understanding the industry would be "Maya" or maybe "3ds Max" depending on your need. Having said that it also depend on what you plan do work on, if its games for example standard would most likely be Max, if movies Maya, and so on. That also don't mean that the other software aren't good or just as good, its just up to you. Example "Cinema 4D" it seem to be really popular for its Integration with "After Effects". Or "Lightwave" for Its VFX. "Houdini" for special Effects... The list goes on and on (Usually if not always they are all used in Different environments, Ex. Max is used in movies, a lot..despite its popularity in Games)...Ultimately the software is somewhat only a tool. (so you may want to try "Softimage" or whatever) Its up to you, the artist and your skill.
To really answer your question at last(sorry about that) Cinema 4D is said to be not as hard as some of the others, or Modo, Blender is also good if your on a budget..Its free if you don't know( But i'am not sure about its learning curve). So fell free to pick which ever software you want whether it be one that i mention or one that i didn't mention as I'm sure there are a lot more, and some very powerful ones...
3d Animation is a technically difficult and time consuming process, no matter what the program- if your going to take the time to learn it, do it right and learn something that may get you a job someday- industry standard right now is Maya for macs and XSI for PCs. 3D Studio Max is used to a lesser extent for games.
If you really don't want one of those, Cinema 4D is a little simplier, as well as Boris FX.
Good Luck.
