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Ok - imagine a noble who goes off to train with either the Guilds or Church and ends up staying with them and doesn't take a title.

They then end up signing on to serve the emperor as part of the Order of the Pheonix. The question is would they be given an Imperial Charter as they are of noble birth or as churchman/guilder would they have to serve as a Cohort for another knight?

I think both options are possible. He could be knighted by the Order of the Phoenix (or perhaps more likely by a proxy house who wishes to suck up to the Emperor, before he is enrolled into the order), or he could be a hanger-on to another knight. In my games, lesser nobles frequently becomes cohort to greater knights, although I must admit that I'm not sure whether that's entirely kosher.

No title - no knighthood, in my mind. He's a cohort.

I'd say he would be a cohort.
I agree with Aurin, no noble title, not a knight, therefore not a Questing Knight.

I agree with Angelman;

While traaditionally true; no title no knighthood; may not be applicable here. The Emperor is short knights having abandoned the Hawkwood. Some minor house will knight almost anyone (even if they leave them unlanded). Example; the questing knight who wrote Imperial Fiefs.

Hum... true.
I didn't recall the situation where freemen became nobles.

I guess you can make a parameter where you might rise in "caste" according to the "circumstances". Saving ones life, bravery in the field and so on.
Like serf become freemen, freemen becoming noble, etc.
I still look at there might be huge resistance from the nobility to do such a gift as a knighthood.

I would say that in general no title, no knight is a good rule of thumb but where player characters are concerned just about anything is possible. I would say that many of noble birth would not take lightly to freemen suddenly being awarded titles.

With a tenuous claim to a minor house or even a long distant connection to a major house, I could see nobles pushing for knighthoods, even landless ones to get more people they can manipulate in court.

In this specific example - I would say that because the character was noble born the path to knighthood probably wouldn't be as hard as it would for a freeman. While the emperor could grant a knighthood (in what house?), it would probably be up to the character to prove themselves to their family to get a title bestowed (probably landless). I'd say without the title they would probably be a cohort, at least at initiation.

Soical mobility seems to be possible in FS (or actually, we know it is from a handful of examples), but it is likely extremely rare. Whats more, I would think it common that WHEN a freeman is elevated to noble status, his/her new patrons would often invent some convenient pedegree for him/her just to save themselves some embarassment.