Here's a trick which I learnt recently that seems to be giving me a road map when using a compressor:

To start, set ratio to max (inf:1), threshold to max (0 db), attack to zero, gain to 0 db, release to something you'll hear, but not too long...

If you now adjust threshold downwards, you can hear the point it just begins to bite, and you can also hear what your release setting is doing because of the extreme pumping...when happy with threshold, adjust release until the length of the release is musical for your track*.

When happy with the threshold and release, lower the ratio to something more sensible and increase the attack to something that flatters the kicks, perhaps.

I'd welcome input from more experienced folks as to whether this approach is any good...or whether it's obvious and what I should have been doing all along.

*: If you're having trouble hearing what's musical, I found what could be a bit of a gem of advice, potentially useful for delay and reverb settings too:
converting bpm to milliseconds per beat is just maths...
specifically, unit conversion.
(anyone here who remembers elementary physics
will begrudgingly admit to knowing what i mean.)

given that you have:
60 seconds per minute
a tempo of 180 (adjust accordingly with each tune)
tempo is in beats per minute
1000 milliseconds per second

we want:
milliseconds per beat

60 (seconds/minute) / 180 (beats/minute)
= 1/3 (seconds/beats)

1/3 (seconds/beats) * 1000 (milliseconds/second)
= 1000/3 (milliseconds/beats)

or...

333.33 milliseconds per beat @ 180bpm.

as far as what values to use for the attack + release,
that's entirely up to you.
but if you make it multiple or divisor of your tempo,
the compressor or limiter will "breathe" on the beat,
instead of at some interval/rhythm of its own.