Role of "a current-limiting low-inductance resistor"?
Without a circuit schematic, it's difficult to directly address the problem, but specifically calling out a low-inductance resistor (which are their own class of resistors) suggests that there is a capacitor or capacitance involved, not explicitly mentioned. This in turn suggests that the circuit is prone to ringing or oscillation, which are generally undesirable. 

Ringing and oscillation are caused by the interplay of inductance and capacitance in a circuit, and if the conditions are right, your circuit might just go crazy.

The resistance of the low-inductance resistor presumably helps dissipate some of that energy that would otherwise go into the oscillations, while the low inductance would make the circuit less prone to oscillation in the first place.