We had about the same weather you did on Belford and Oxford, but instead of going back over Belford we bailed down the valley between which got us out of the worst of it much quicker. We had expected to cross the brook and walk back up the road but it was too high so we bushwhacked up the brook to the trail. Sometimes a bushwhack can be safer if you trust your navigation.
If that guy really told you to climb Lizard Head, don't buy any real estate from him, have you ever seen a picture of it?
As for Kings Peak, we did it Labor Day and there was still snow! Plus dozens of backpackers and hundreds of sheep, sheep doo on all possible campsites and in all water sources. Sounds like you had a better time even without summit.
