1) Can I retain priority and use the fanatic's ability to sacrifice himself before state-based effects are checked and he is put into the graveyard?
2a) Would the answer be different if I wanted to use him for a mana ability (such as Food Chain or Phyrexian Altar) instead of sacrificing him?
2b) What if the creature in question had the mana ability such as a Wild Cantor or Llanowar Elves with haste?
3) Would there be any functional difference in this scenario if instead of a 1/1 creature getting -1/-1 I played a 0/0, such as a Clone with no other creatures on the battlefield?
The cards you describe all involve using activated abilities. A player can only activate abilities when they have priority, with one exception: If the activated ability is a mana ability, players can activate the abilities when the game prompts the player to pay a cost that includes paying mana, even if they don't have priority at the time. Outside this one exception, you will never be able to activate abilities that require the creature to be on the battlefield because it will be dead before you can.
For a (convoluted) example of the exception, let's say that there is a Concordant Crossroads on the battlefield and your opponent controls Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. You cast Flash, and when it resolves you put an Alloy Myr onto the battlefield. Flash is still resolving, so the Myr isn't dead yet despite being 0/0. Then Flash instructs you to sacrifice the Myr unless you pay 1. Because you are being prompted to pay mana and the Myr has haste, you can tap it for mana at this time to pay the cost. (It will still die after Flash has finished resolving, though.)
Do note that triggered abilities that fire when a creature enters the battlefield will still work as normal even if the creature dies immediately. You will still get the ability from playing a Coiling Oracle while there is a Night of Souls' Betrayal on the field, for example. Interestingly, the creature will die to SBAs before you put the triggered ability onto the stack, so if the creature also triggers an ability by dying you will be able to put the two abilities onto the stack in whichever order you want.
Quick followup. Let's say that an ability puts a pair of identical 0/0 Legends onto the field. Since both the Legend Rule and the toughness checking rule are state based actions, which one ends up being evaluated first? This could matter if the sacrifice of one of the Legends somehow makes the other legend not 0/0 anymore; maybe the Legend says "All creatures get -1/-1" and is a 2/2 or something like that.
Quick followup. Let's say that an ability puts a pair of identical 0/0 Legends onto the field. Since both the Legend Rule and the toughness checking rule are state based actions, which one ends up being evaluated first? This could matter if the sacrifice of one of the Legends somehow makes the other legend not 0/0 anymore; maybe the Legend says "All creatures get -1/-1" and is a 2/2 or something like that.
Both state-based actions are performed at the exact same time. The two creatures die simultaneously.
Side note: they aren't being sacrificed. Both the legend rule and the 0-toughness rule just send the creature to the graveyard, they don't count as a sacrifice.
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1) Can I retain priority and use the fanatic's ability to sacrifice himself before state-based effects are checked and he is put into the graveyard?
2a) Would the answer be different if I wanted to use him for a mana ability (such as Food Chain or Phyrexian Altar) instead of sacrificing him?
2b) What if the creature in question had the mana ability such as a Wild Cantor or Llanowar Elves with haste?
3) Would there be any functional difference in this scenario if instead of a 1/1 creature getting -1/-1 I played a 0/0, such as a Clone with no other creatures on the battlefield?
For a (convoluted) example of the exception, let's say that there is a Concordant Crossroads on the battlefield and your opponent controls Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. You cast Flash, and when it resolves you put an Alloy Myr onto the battlefield. Flash is still resolving, so the Myr isn't dead yet despite being 0/0. Then Flash instructs you to sacrifice the Myr unless you pay 1. Because you are being prompted to pay mana and the Myr has haste, you can tap it for mana at this time to pay the cost. (It will still die after Flash has finished resolving, though.)
Do note that triggered abilities that fire when a creature enters the battlefield will still work as normal even if the creature dies immediately. You will still get the ability from playing a Coiling Oracle while there is a Night of Souls' Betrayal on the field, for example. Interestingly, the creature will die to SBAs before you put the triggered ability onto the stack, so if the creature also triggers an ability by dying you will be able to put the two abilities onto the stack in whichever order you want.
Both state-based actions are performed at the exact same time. The two creatures die simultaneously.
Side note: they aren't being sacrificed. Both the legend rule and the 0-toughness rule just send the creature to the graveyard, they don't count as a sacrifice.