This might be true even though for what you need you might find LT good enough. Most troubles that you could get down the road is regarding scripts, whether that is simple MEL scripts or Python. Even though LT suports MEL, lots of people are usually making scripts in full Maya and it can happen using under the hood stuff…
Thinking on this topic myself. Want to switch form 3D Max though. In the near future I want to try Modo Indie on Steam. But some limitations bother me, like that commands and scripts are unavailable. But I think it's still a good choice for me.
I haven't gotten around to messing with Maya's UV editor, I have however worked a bit with Blender's UV system. What do you think makes it superior? Well, someday when I feel like I'm at a point where I can actually justify using Maya's fancy tools I'll definitely switch. Until then, being limited on the useful scripts is…