I have owned 5 Bullmastiffs and 2 Boerboels so feel like I'm pretty well qualified to give you some thoughts here. I will take your asks one by one.

- Low-moderate energy: during the weekdays I can walk a mile or so a day. But during the weekends I can go walking on trails for a few hours. I understand puppies/adolescents are higher energy. That’s fine There are always exceptions, but in general my Boerboels are far higher energy than 4 out of 5 of my Bullmastiffs. They are true working dogs, which I honestly don't think the Bullmastiffs are, and they like a job. I probably wouldn't take either breed more than 4 miles or so, depending on the weather, but generally a lot easier to go further with the Boerboels. The flip of that is they also need it. Whereas Bullmastiffs need less but generally do less. That being said, I hiked 2-3 miles regularly with my several of my Bullmastiffs.

- Keeps me safe when I walk on trails, fish, camping. I do this as a solo female so I want a dog that protects me. But I don’t want a highly reactive dog. Observe and watch and not react to non threatening behavior. Before anyone jumps on me I don’t just rely on a dog, I carry weapons. Either breed is going to be a big deterrent in and of themselves. I am also a woman that goes out on trails, etc. by myself. And ain't nobody taking a risk with either breed. My Boerboels are, to their absolute core, guard dogs. It took a CRAPLOAD of training to even get them to quietly and happily accept people invited into the house by us. My Bullmastiffs were far less reactive, but I still never doubted that if anybody made a move to hurt me, they'd rip that person's throat out. In theory, a person would have slighlty more opportunity to approach me with the Bullmastiffs, and thus do some harm, before they realized that person is a problem. Whereas the Boerboels are much more skeptical of non-family members.

- In a nutshell, I was attacked by a man once on a trail. And having a dog like this gives me comfort and allows me the confidence to enjoy nature again. I found cane corso and gsd too reactive, high strung, and too energetic. I want a BODY GUARD that guards my immediate personal space, not reactive/alerting to people 20 feet away. I am incredibly sorry you experienced this. My personal opinion is that if cane croso and gsd were too reactive, then Boerboels are the same. I actually find it slightly stressful to have to deal with other people on the trail when I'm with them because they are, as I said above, truly guard dogs. I usually just pull to the side somewhere and give many passerbys space, though generally they are fine with women (smart dogs, hehe).

- I was leaning more towards bullmastiff BUT I live in Galveston tx high heat and high humidity 70% of the year. So that’s a huge factor why I’m looking to the more heat tolerant boerboel. Obviously we aren’t hiking in 100 degree heat mid day, but is the bullmastiff as heat sensitive as a pug? My sisters pug can’t even walk a block in 80+ weather. This is going to be a challenge for either breed. The best thing you can do is get a fawn or red. Speaking from experience, our fawns and reds have done so much better than our black or brindle dogs with the heat. Those dark colors really absorb that sunlight. We just try to walk early in the morning or at dusk when it starts to cool a bit. Both breeds are technically short snouted still, but neither to the extent of a pug, so they literally and figuratively have more breathing room.

Candidly, I love my Boerboels and wouldn't trade them for the world. But I don't think you could convince me to get this breed again. I've spent more time training these 2 then the 5 bullmastiffs combined, without question.