Should a follower of a particular madhhab consider your preferred opinion and adopt it when studying one of the madhhabs, or should he adhere to his own madhhab? And is there any benefit in acquiring knowledge without acting upon it and instead adopting another’s knowledge?

Whoever is qualified for ijtihad and tarjih (independent reasoning and preferring one opinion over others) must prefer what appears to him to be supported by evidence. As for the common person, he must follow (taqleed) someone from the people of knowledge whom he trusts. The fundamental principle is that a Muslim should follow the evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah in matters where the evidence is known, and he should follow someone whose ijtihad (independent reasoning) is deemed sound in matters where there is no specific evidence. He is not obligated to follow a specific madhhab (school of thought) or a particular person. There is no excuse for anyone to follow an opinion when he knows that the evidence contradicts it.