The benefits of loading are simply that it will allow you to reach your point of creatine cell saturation more quickly than if having a lesser dose.
Someone had a great graph which displayed this some time ago, basically what I had always thought, larger doses result in peak satuation (and thus maximum benefit) more quickly, however it did, interestingly enough, show that creatine levels declined more quickly once a consistent dose was reached after loading.
I'd speculate that this was a typical negative feedback response (which is common with an adaptive living thing), the more something is available, the less well it is utilised after a period. Insulin is a good example of this, however I wouldn't expect creatine to have the same negatives.
In short, creatine is safe, better results will be had more quickly if loading, however if you want benefits for a longer period, not loading may be the best bet.
The fact levels declined over time on s ateady dose is another good reason to cycle too.