I had some success with filling the cracks with latex. (I used a caulking gun). If the cracks are very big, you may want to use a cement patch. Afterward I stained the steps to look like saltillo tile. The DIY web site has a huge explanation of how to do this. They rate it a 3 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5. Personally, I think they make it look like a much bigger project that it is.

These are pictures of the house should that help as you consider both options for us. Note: Top steps are stone and walkway/bottom steps are both currently concrete.

I suspect the cracking is caused by the cement expanding at a different (greater) amount than the pavers do. Caulking will not solve that. It is not believable that the pavers all had existing cracks that allowed water to seep in...

ci_lantro, thanks for the thoughts. I had thought about the steel angle being a potential, which I think essentially serves to not only protect the edge of the steps and landing, but was their pour-stop and form when the concrete was poured. And this angle had gone long without paint and was very rusted before it received a new coat of paint last year. But at the corner where the tile has really started to pop the concrete below the tile and adjacent to the angle appears to be in good condition (see on the far left near the corner). Concrete and steel actually have the same expansion coefficient so they normally behave the same with temperature differences, which is why steel makes such a good reinforcement for concrete. But when steel corrodes, it expands in a different way that could effect adjacent concrete. That's when rust jacking for instance causes the brick and mortar above a window to crack. But so far that doesn't seem to be the issue here to me. Regarding a design change, I think we definitely aren't looking to make huge changes to the configuration. It would end up being pretty costly too since the stoop is clearly integrated with the foundation of our home. The columns and door surround sit atop it and the whole thing has stayed tight and attached and at the same level as the rest of the house for the last 95 years. Here's a zoomed out view though for reference: I was actually hoping instead of plain concrete that we would find red quarry tile like we have in the sunroom, and matching the red clay roof rather than plain concrete under the tile.