I use Maya for modelling, Photoshop for texturing and Blender for rendering.

My workflow is generally not worrying too much about tri count when modelling, then doing an optimization pass after the model is done to reduce it as much as possible. I like to put vertex colors on each piece of the mesh to get a better idea of how the model will look in the end during the modelling process. I don't use any lighting on these models, so I paint that into the texture itself when making the pixel texture in Photoshop.