GtkRadiant or 3DS Max?

Nearing the completion of a solid foundation, and the beginning of level dev.  (The fun part :)
As I develop levels I intend to add more functionality as I go, keeping with the kx philosophy of evolving gameplay.
Just a couple more things to do:
1. Collision filtering and collision callbacks.  Right now there is a separation between level geometry and game entities.  Levels are modeled in GtkRadiant, lightmaps are baked in, imported into the game and converted to Bullet rigid bodies.  The player cube and targets are created in irrlicht with only code.  So I'm wondering if I should use irrlicht's collision detection for triggers and callbacks, or stay with Bullet for all that?
2. Also, I'm wondering if I should make an effort to create a new level pipeline from 3ds Max.
I passed up on the geo instancing project and learning shader/gpu stuff, but I definitely want to start using 3ds more.  I'd love to write my own or modify the .3ds importer and learn MaxScript.  Obviously 3ds is a billion times more powerful than Radiant, and I could design and import my targets and game entities in the same environment.  Something that may come in really handy down the line.
Also it will probably speed up content production once I get it going.  I feel that Radiant, like Unity and those other game dev programs, is geared towards an FPS like Quake, and using it to create the kind of unique concepts I envision for kyuplex would be like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.  

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