As for budget - I want to see what better quality options are out there than Behringer and Mackie (I don't consider Mackie much better quality than Behringer, but if others have better experience/use cases than what I do I would be open to their thoughts/suggestions). That doesn't give a number, I realize. Just as an example - if a Behringer is, say, $70 and a quality mixer that is in a similar category is $140 I'd rather spend the $140 and know I got a better mixer that will last. I've relied on my 10 channel mixer for decades but some channels are burned out and so is the main out (I have been using the tape out RCA's instead). I would like to get a unit that will last and not burn out - and that sounds good (quality preamps, etc).
As far as use-case goes - I want to run condenser mics in a compact package so I can record on-the-go. The use case is more specific to "podcasting", if you will, rather than music recording, but the two really go hand-in-hand. It doesn't matter what the sound is I am recording - its how I am doing it. I want to set up a laptop with the mixer and mic in portable settings = minimal "stuff" and minimal space. At times I may run the mixer output back in to the mic port on a camera so I can feed the condenser mic audio straight in to video recording also. I have yet to cross the compression bridge (and possibly noise gate). I can do that in Pro Tools with plugins, but that is too complicated for what I am trying to accomplish - I'd like to start up front with the audio fed in to what ever recording I am making being as "right" as I can get it so as to do the least (if any) post-processing.
With the Scarlett I run Pro Tools as that drives the Scarlett the way it is intended.
What I am wanting to do with a USB mixer is run Audacity to record in as it is a simple software and covers 95% of what I want to do. At the end of the day - if I can record 1 or 2 channels (mono or stereo) from the mixer's main out through the USB connection with good quality on Audacity that is the end goal.
Right now I can't record in to Audacity well because the signal path between it and the Scarlett (only USB interface I have at the moment) is not correct - Audacity can't drive the Scarlett correctly. That is where Pro Tools is required - and I don't want that complex of software. With a simplified interface (USB mixer as opposed to a higher-HP Scarlett) I should be able to get Audacity to drive it.
Edit -
Just to clarify on the Audacity recording with Scarlett - Audacity DOES record audio (2 channels = main mix L/R [stereo], not 1 stream per channel/input as does Pro Tools). However, the quality is poor and attenuated. That is where the "not correct" part of the interfacing is. Yes I do get "sound" to record in Audacity, but it is degraded.
Edit 2 - video/audio sample:
https://youtu.be/0lkEkNjBmOg