However this seldom works because web sites, even the ones running on localhost, have all sort of external dependencies, from webfonts to third part assets stored on CDNs. So VMs need an access to the Internet and that access could compromise them.
Probably restoring them from the original image after each shutdown is the best way to fix this issue.
I don't believe that the images that Microsoft made available are so vulnerable as-they-are that they will be infected within hours...
However, I believe these OS-es come with certain presets that will not expose them to the wild-internet immediately. I assume (yes - assume) that MS has enabled the firewalls per default on these images, so unless you use them to browse to certain "entertainment sites" you should be quite ok...
Edit: ok, ran a lab-test (so not the real thing): Windows XP with IE6 on one VM, Kali with Armitage on the other. A "Hail Mary" of 22 exploits did not result in any session on the windows machine...