Help me getting my system preferences to work again
Yes. I like to make a new user account and the log out of all the old users. No data is lost, but you can time the new user to open preferences.
Then you know if the problem is the system needs to be fixed / reinstalled or just your user has corrupt preferences.
Assuming it’s not your user account, this might be faster to sort by a Time Machine backup and erasing the mac to reinstall a clean OS. Once you’re sure it’s not a bug in a clean OS, you can run Migration Assistant and bring back your apps / documents and not your settings in the hopes that it cures the issue.
Sorry I don’t have a more surgical method to isolate this reliably. It’s hitting what might be an isolated issue with a big hammer, but you probably need a backup anyhow since the system is degrading and you’ll likely spend more time troubleshooting this than testing a clean install.