Hi. Most preset pose issues are due to the joint constraints. Carrara sets what it thinks are reasonable constraints on the movement of joints. You have to go in and set the limits to something less constrained.
I haven't tried older figures, but maybe it would work to file>import rather than drag and drop?
The fact that any presets you create go into the "my documents" folder is a blessing when updating or reinstalling Carrara. You don't have to reload your presets as well. The blank folders? Mystery...