The problem here is that there is not one true answer. Google will display the various styles used, but there is not one correct one.
To determine the style that you should should use, do the following.
Look up the word in the standard dictionary you are supposed to use. (If there isn't a standard dictionary for your project, choose one). If the word is in the dictionary, use that spelling. If not, look up the hyphenation rules in the style manual you are supposed to use. (If there isn't a standard style manual for your project, choose one). Hyphenate the word according to those rules.
For questions of capitalization, you'll have to refer once again to the style manual. It should contain rules for capitalizing hyphenated words. But be aware, the capitalization rule for a hyphenated word in a title may differ from that at the beginning of a sentence.
Example
Let's use your word, "co scheduling", and the rules from the Penn State Editorial Style Manual.
The manual specifies "Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, current edition" for spelling and hyphenation. In that dictionary there is no entry for a word co that would properly modify scheduling, which means that "co scheduling" is incorrect. There are also no entries for either co-scheduling or coscheduling, so we can't follow the dictionary's spelling.
There are entries for the prefix co- and the word scheduling. So the word must be formed by merging these two. We need to use the style manual to determine how to do that. The section on hyphens states: "Words formed with the prefix co should be hyphenated." So if you follow Penn State's rules, the word should be co-scheduling.
The Penn State manual is silent on the rules for capitalizing hyphenated words and refers users to the Chicago Manual of Style in that case. That manual states: "Do not capitalize the second element if (a) it is a participle modifying the first element or (b) both elements constitute a single word." Because co- is a prefix, that means co-scheduling is a single word, and therefore the capitalized form is Co-scheduling.
The Chicago Manual prefers a spare hyphenation style; their guideline is "hyphenate only if doing so will aid readability". So Chicago would recommend North America based.
When I look up based in Wordnik, all of their examples where based is preceded by a proper name use the hyphen, e.g., U.S.-based, N.Y.-based, and so North America-based by extension.
However, I would share your reservations about joining America to based, and would use North America based.
The Chicago Manual notes:
Far and away the most common spelling questions for writers and
editors concern compound terms—whether to spell as two words,
hyphenate, or close up as a single word.
To aid your decision, they offer this handy table.
Best Answer
Hyphen is required when phrasal adjective comes before the noun it modifies. For an example,
In the sentence, "Man-eating shark" man-eating is a phrasal adjective modifying the noun shark. This sentence means a shark that eats a man. Now, if you remove the hyphen in "Man eating shark", then it means in some corner of the world some man likes to eat a shark.
So, it is apparent to use hyphen when phrasal adjective modifies noun. In that, you inform your reader explicitly that both the words act as a single unit.
Now, let us consider the three specific instances in your book.
Instance 1:
Observation 1: Here, the compound word off guard is used in an idiom caught [sb] off guard. Here, the compound word off guard is not modifying any word. So, we are not required to use the hyphen.
Instance 2:
Observation 2: Again, the compound word off guard is not modifying any word. So, the hyphen is not required.
Instance 3:
Observation 3: Again, in the idiom caught [sb] off guard off guard is not modifying any word. So, you are not required to you the hyphen.
American Dictionaries
One that support compound word off guard without hyphen:
Merriam Webster [check under entry 6 b]
Dictionary.com [check under idioms, you have to scroll little bit]
One that support compound word off-guard with hyphen:
British Dictionaries: I am not taking liberty to explain further. I guess, I have covered the explanation in detail.
One that support compound word off guard without hyphen:
Oxford Dictionary
Cambridge Dictionary
One that support compound word off-guard with hyphen:
Google Books Ngram Viewer search suggest that usage of off guard is more popular than off-guard. In other words, there are few instances where off-guard modifies the noun it precedes or the author simply prefers to use hyphenated off-guard instead of unhyphenated one.
Blue is off guard and Red is off-guard.