Hot water heater pipes vs Tankless Water Heater - freeze procedures

As long as your pipes are insulated in the attic you can put a hand warmer on top of any hose bibs outside. Shake it up to activate and set it directly on top of the hose bib. No need to do anything but set it right on top. Put a plastic bag loosely over it to keep it from getting damp/wet but still allow air/oxygen to get to it and you are good to go.

Moving water has a tendency not to freeze but that depends on how much it is moving. A slow drip can/will freeze up at some temp. The problem with a slow drip is a piece of ice can come loose somewhere else and plug that drip then you will freeze anyway.

Both in the attic. Attic pipes are not insulated but the pipes outside going into the house are.

Was the temp in your OP suppose to read -26F or less than 26F?

Either way, I'd opt to buy some pipe insulation and do the pipes in the attic. Just one of them burst and you're dealing with a huge mess to repair in ceilings, floors, etc. At the very least, place a couple electric heaters in the attic to keep it above freezing if possible.

We in N.O. had several days of below freezing temps. last winter and I only left the farthest faucet at the back of my house run all night long at a slow stream and never had a pipe freeze, but all my exposed pipes are insulated with foam.

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Replace everything with PEX and be done with all this.

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Pex will still freeze. They might not bust but unless you want to wake up in the morning to no water to shower or brush your teeth I would suggest leaving some running.

My whole house is PEX and I ran into this last year when I forgot to run water

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I wish my house was pex. I'm thinking about redoing the whole raised part of the house.