So I don't know if this is directly connected to my newest bug or not, but I too cannot load save game files all of a sudden—except mine may have a clearer reason why:
The moment when I got too curious and enabled Cheat Mode (to get through that "Start a Kingdom" grind!) my game has refused to load any saves and crashed to desktop after selecting a save from the Load Game screen.
I've
made a separate post because it seems like the only thing that changed for me was:
-played 40+ hours
-
enabled cheat mode 
-consistently CTD at Load Game
-reverted config files back via backup copy
-crashes continue regardless of original backup files
I did just manage to force my way through the crash (since originally posting about it) by just restarting the game multiple times, loading random files over and over, crashing multiple times, and eventually one of them worked! But it failed the very next time. So other than that blip I'm in the same boat, despite the e1.0.3 patch.