Not that I entirely disagree, but Bungie (and Nylund?) already set up the possible love story while having Cortana look, sound, and think like the Chief's surrogate mother.

: TFoR made it clear that no AI actually has a real form, but... Well if you
: want to see them as all nude, that's your provocative...

I think he meant in the same sense that people are all naked under their clothes, or that no AI has a covering per se, there's just their representation and that's it. Roland or Serena or that one from Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian, I'd say the clothes there are basically part of the avatar, not a separate thing.