How full is full?
I used to keep crap on my desktop and only my desktop (aliases, files, etc.). Then I realized the setup looked horrible.
Then I started to put all my stuff in the Dock, and it became cluttered.
Then I read a little tip over at AmbitiousLemon.com, discussing whether or not you should keep your dock full or empty.
They had something like:
Keep your most used apps in the left side of your dock, and link the rest in folders in your dock.
My screenshot below displays this quite well. (If you are working with Photoshop and ImageReady, such as I do, leave one of them out of the Dock, and use the quick link in the other app to jump to and fro.)
As for the arrows, they will stay there for any alias, so that you recognize it. You don't have to put the alias in the Dock, just the original. And if you need a folder for aliases, make that, and place the aliases in the folder. Link the folder to the Dock.
It may take some getting used to, but it's no big deal. Remember, leave yourself open to options. I even keep some of the same apps on my Dock in a folder, because the folder holds the other apps I don't use much. 🙂