Cheese is a Skunk#1 phenotype called a Clone only strain so everything that is not a clone or an S1 from the original clone ( the exodus cut if I am not wrong) is not a real cheese. If the cheese has been crossed then it is a cheese based cross.
Now about the sativa ascent, like I said the Cheese is a special Skunk#1 cut and the Skunk#1 is a cross between ( if I remember well) an Afghani , a Thaï , a Mexican and a Columbian so only 1 of these strain is a indica : the Afghani.
So when a skunk/cheese is sativa leaning it's totally normal due to the original genetics.
When it comes to Skunk#1 hybrids I recommend everyone to buy a Sensi seed Skunk#1 10 pack and grow them all , you'll get a lot of phenotypes , some with citrus smell , some with dead dog smell , some with herbal taste or even some with a cherry/berry taste. If the phenotype is not isolated like for the Exodus cheese or the Lemon skunk from DNA genetics then you'll probably play lottery for the phenotypes