Hi somebody!
You'll need to tell us more about your computer set up - OS, memory, vid board, version of DirectX etc. That information often helps us figure out what might be causing the crashes.
As for the NPCs talking - as long as you haven't finished a quest, they are going to do that and there isn't anything you can do.
Did the patch seem to help at all?? Personally, I don't care for the patch and have never installed it. If installing the patch didn't help in some manner, you might consider uninstalling it (which would require that you copy your SAVE directory off to somewhere else, uninstall and reinstall W&W). Check the Best Tips thread - there is a list in there of what the patch does and what it takes away to help you decide if you want to remove it.
Wyv