Did you turn off facegen in the overall settings as well (file > settings > 3d and facegen), or just in the game settings (game > game settings > players & facegen). If the latter, make sure to also disable the 'load ... automatically' checkboxes.
I like facegen, but I agree that the constant updating makes the game a lot more frustrating. I usually play with create pictures on player creation, but update only on Jan 1st, But unfortunately the latter setting has been
broken since last year..