Meh  core was a twinkle in the eye and nothing more to me. Yeah it sounded promising, but I didn't bank on it. LW is still very solid I my book and does what I need it to. Hell I've seen amazing things done in Blender, and it's free. It all just comes down to what you like...and your talent. 

The he things that make Maya more robust are probably things that most LW users would not use unless part of a bigger studio  

lightwave, photoshop, oreo's...tools of the trade.