oh yeah that is a common mistake when you are first starting, the best way to use compression is as little as possible, only use it when you need it. If any channels are clipping lower the channels that are going into the group/bus or lower the individual sound. A limiter is mainly used at the very end of a mastering chain to make the final gain increase without clipping (going over 0 dB). If an individual sound needs it, compress it. At your group level or bus level compressors are typically used lightly to "glue" the elements together, or to control peaks and achieve a higher RMS value. You are basically doing the same thing with your limiters however they are much more aggressive and can kill your dynamic range. Mix your track as well as you can and make it as loud as you can with nothing on the master channel. If you can achieve this your track will sound very good when it goes to get compressed in the mastering stage, you will achieve commercial level loudness without having to push your track too hard and killing the dynamics.
