Others will help you with your compatibility question, but I'll ask you another question: what frame are you building this on?

If you're NOT adamant about STI, then going the bar-end or downtube shifter route will save you money and potentially eliminate a lot of these drivetrain compatibility issues. I'd recommend doing a price comparison between an STI build and a bar-end shifter build, and then look at what that extra money could go into (a better frame maybe?).

You can always upgrade to STI's a couple years later if you absolutely hate bar-ends...but you may end up really liking them.