We are installing chair rail on a stairway that goes up 12 steps to a landing turns right and then has a single step to second landing to the entry to the second floor. The stairway continues right several steps to a third landing and a single step to another landing.
The debate is if there needs to be a rise on the single step landings equivalent to the step rise or is it a better solution not to have a rise and have a straight horizontal run where the displacement of the chair rail relative to the floor will be one step lower on the upper landing.

The cair rail should follow the pattern of the floor and be as symmetrical as possible. If there is a rise in the stairwell there should be a rise in the chair rail.
Since we're going up one step from landing A to landing B the chair rail should rise by the same height as the step rise.