Oh, darn i'm again being misunderstood somehow.
You're misunderstood every time you speak, Zyx.

but not before my left hand is cured and ready
...no comment.
I save often, does that count? See, what i'm getting at?
The scoremongers save every turn, or if not that every other, simply because of how long turns can take at that point.
Reloading is another topic entirely but generally since it takes up time to reload it it's not that big of a deal, particularly as the game wears on (and it will have less and less of an effect).
As Mumble, and others, have said-each game has a curve, and once that curve is established (generally in the first 20 turns if not less), it's very hard to make that curve have a higher rate than it does.
So reload to your heart's content. 
I know that the system works extremely well as it is (alt or meta), but i've skipped the Jagged Knife event once or twice to raise or lower the turn counts.
My understanding was that most players who have played long enough love the JK event because it lets them take planets without angering the AI. Personally, I play without megas on because the last 12 games I've played with them on, on a large or larger galaxy, the 5pc/wk speed limit event hits me less than 2 years in. It hates me.
I feel I've failed to address the point of your post, but that would be easier if I knew what it was. 