I can activate Windows once on the virtual machine I created to test NTLite on a 'live system' using Microsoft Activation Scripts (MAS) from massgravel/WindowsAddict so when I do a new clean installation on that VM just connect to the internet that Windows will be activated automatically. However I am currently doing some tests with Pro because this edition facilitates some things like HWID activation and even to download the ISOs. But lately I haven't really cared about it. Regarding which edition I use, when I don't use LTSC I always use Enterprise because the life cycle is longer than Pro so I have more time to wait before migrating to a new build. But I wouldn't use Home because I like to use gpedit.msc sometimes. I noticed better performance on virtual machines also with VMware compared to Hyper-V. I particularly prefer VMware Workstation Pro because it has better performance and more features than VirtualBox and Windows does not run as a guest losing performance in general use as in Hyper-V. Garson Home doesn't have group policy editor and some other things I don't know for sure but they shouldn't be very important unless you use Hyper-V for virtualization.
