Every type of processing does some sort of damage to the audio. Either adding noise, quantization distortion, removing transients for the sake of overall volume, etc.
When putting together a chain try to figure out how you want to manipulate the audio, kind of like a ball of clay, and shape it into what you want (wether a brick or a ball).
The first thing that I would do (in general) is to remove any sibilance or plosives. So you can consider this EQ and/or compression. The idea here is that the threshold will change if you have anything before it, and it helps stop you from chasing your tail.
Next (if needed) perform any adjustments to the imaging (like M/S, or other stereo enhancements).
After any image adjustments strive for a good overall frequency balance. If there are frequency bands that are giving the mix a "lumpy" quality a compressor will react to those possibly in a way that is unmusical or at least not what you want in the final product. So EQ before overall compression is a good idea.
Next go for average level or adjust areas that are uneven volume-wise in the mix, usually with a compressor. I like to start with a low ratio and tune the threshold a bit higher than the average level, then adjust the ratio to make the mix as dense as desired. You may also have to re-adjust the threshold and other parameters to suit your taste.
After you have the mix sounding well-balanced in both frequency and volume, go for overall level if it needs it with a limiter or gain adjustment, then final in the chain would be to dither if you have completed fades and editing for the final CD.
It's not always the "formula" but works pretty well in general.