So finally got my game sorted. It didn't want to start at all. Had to go through all the mods, repair the game, contact a priest... and eventually I was able to get a slightly older save open on my legacy save. Had to remarry the next active family and then got all melancholy about leaving the ranch- I love the lot. I still care about my sims that still live there but I can't progress without leaving the lot... Kinda like real life. On the interim of figuring out why my game saves weren't loading, I created a few characters from the Companions from Skyrim. Totally vanilla but they still look pretty good. I'm waiting to add them to my legacy save or even just have them be their own save. Either way, they are on the gallery if that's something you might be keen on. It's getting late and I need to get ready- be kind to yourselves. Cheers!